# 


m&j. 


SOUTHERN    E*?ANCH 

UNIVERSITY  c?--  CALtFOi^V 

LIBRARY 

LOS   ANGELES.  CALIF. 


THE  HISTORICAL  CHILD 


Paidology 
The     Science     of     the      Child 


THE 
HISTORICAL    CHILD 

BY 
OSCAR  CHRISMAN,  A.M.,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  Paidology  and  Psychology  in  th«  Ohio  Universily 


BOSTON 

RICHARD   G.   BADGER 

THE   GORHAM   PRESS 


COPYBIGHT,  1920,  BY   RiCHARD   G.   BaDQEE 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


CrT 


TO    MY    WIFE 


PREFACE 

In  the  Pedagogical  Seminary  for  December,  1893,  in  an  ar- 
ticle on  "The  Hearing  of  Children,"  the  last  paragraph,  page 
438,  occurred  for  the  first  time  in  print  the  word  paidology} 
/v  In  The  Forum  for  February,  1894,  page  728,  the  first  article 
explanatory  of  paidology  appeared.     A  more  complete  out- 
^  lining  of  the  subject  was  as  a  doctor's  dissertation  at  the 
^  University  of  Jena,  Germany,  1896.     In  the  first  edition  of 
^  the  Standard  Dictionary  was  included  the  word  paidology, 
»    wherein  it  was  defined  as  ' '  The  scientific  study  of  the  child. ' ' 
^  Paidology  originated  in  my  mind  at  a  very  unexpected  mo- 
Xj'  ment  one  day  in  April,  1893. 

This  book  is  the  first  of  a  series  that  it  is  my  purpose  to 

"^  write  upon  child  life.     The  others  will  follow  from  time  to 

.  time  upon  the  different  phases  of  child  being.     This  book 

•5  and  the  others  it  is  hoped  may  appear  are  the  outcome  of 

•4)  several  years  of  study  and  of  teaching  the  subject  to  young 

4  men  and  women,  which  has  proved  to  me  that  people  are 

A     eager  to  know  about  children  in  the  past  as  well  as  in  the 

"^  present.     He  who  wishes  to  acquaint  himself  with  children 

and  child  nature  must  have  a  knowledge  of  child  life  as  it 

existed  among  the  various  nations  of  the  world.     The  child 

as  found  in  Ancient  Mexico  and  Ancient  Peru  is  given  place 

here  because  the  life  and  doings  of  these  peoples  have  always 

been  attractive  reading  to  me,  and  also  it  is  well  to  consider 

child  life  in  these  nations  who  reached  such  a  high  stage  of 

existence  among  the  lower  forms  of  human  society  and  so 

far  removed  from  the  civilizations  of  Asia  and  Europe.    It  is 

hoped  there  is  value  in  this  work  to  the  student  of  child 

nature  and  that  young  people  may  find  it  interesting  and 

profitable. 

It  will  be  noted  that  there  are  topics  of  a  general  nature 
given  in  this  work,  which  purports  to  be  a  study  of  child 
life.  When  it  is  considered  that  the  affairs  of  a  nation  affect 
every  class  and  age  of  the  persons  constituting  it  and  espe- 

*  The  ai  in  paidology  is  pronounced  as  in  aisle,  aa  i  in  pine. 


8  PREFACE 

cially  react  upon  women,  the  mothers,  then  it  may  be  under- 
stood how  vital  these  matters  become  in  a  study  of  child  life 
among  a  people  and  how  necessary  they  are  for  a  better 
comprehension  of  what  is  directly  connected  with  children. 
Too  the  term  "child"  is  usednere  in  a  general  sense,  to  in- 
clude all  ages  up  to  full  manhood. 

It  seems  to  me  that  everything  done  and  studied  in  my 
whole  life  touches  this  science  of  the  child  and  that  every 
one  with  whom  I  have  come  in  contact  has  aided  me.  It  is 
wished  here  to  express  in  a  general  way  my  thanks  to  these 
friends  for  their  help.  I  must,  though,  mention  by  name  a 
few  who  have  more  directly  made  this  book  possible.  First 
of  all  is  President  G.  Stanley  Hall  of  Clark  University,  the 
great  leader  and  pioneer  in  the  study  of  children,  with  whom 
I  spent  two  years  and  from  whom  I  first  obtained  the  right 
ideas  of  studying  child  life.  Another  is  Professor  Wilhelm 
Rein  of  the  University  of  Jena,  who  kindly  permitted  me  to 
use  paidology  as  the  subject  for  my  doctor's  thesis  and  ex- 
tended the  time  for  working  on  it,  thus  giving  me  oppor- 
tunity for  use  of  material  at  Berlin  and  when  completed  he 
endorsed  the  thesis,  "Paidologie,  Entwurf  zu  einer  Wissen- 
schaft  des  Kindes, ' '  to  the  Senate  of  his  University.  A  third 
one  to  whom  I  am  greatly  indebted  is  Professor  Rudolph 
Eucken  of  the  University  of  Jena,  whose  lectures  listened  to 
for  a  year  gave  me  a  broader  view  of  life  and  the  sympathy 
he  expressed  for  myself  and  work  were  of  the  utmost  en- 
couragement and  too  at  a  time  when  well  needed.  I  owe 
much  to  Prof.  Dr.  W.  Preyer  of  the  University  of  Berlin, 
now  deceased,  who  wrote  me  encouragingly  of  my  work  before 
my  going  to  Germany  and  while  there  he  talked  over  matters 
with  me  and  went  over  the  thesis  when  completed  and  had 
faith  in  the  idea  I  was  promulgating,  new  at  that  time,  that 
the  study  of  the  child  is  a  science  in  and  of  itself  and  for 
which  I  had  originated  the  term  paidology,  and  he  advised 
and  encouraged  me  to  make  it  my  life  study. 

I  must  take  this  opportunity  to  express  gratitude  to  my 
wife  who  so  willingly  gave  up  the  many  things  which  are  so 
dear  to  a  woman  and  a  mother  that  there  might  be  acquired 
by  myself  the  very  best  education  the  world  could  give  and 
so  make  possible  the  coming  forth  of  paidology  and  all  it  may 
contain. 

0.  C. 

The  Ohio  University. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

PREFACE       7 

I.    THE  CHILD  IN  MEXICO 15-38 

The  people 15 

Women  and  marriage 16 

Birth         18 

Casting  the  nativity  of  the  infant 19 

Baptizing  and  nammg  child 19 

Care  and  treatment  of  children 19 

Dress 24 

Food  and  drink         25 

Lore 27 

Human  sacrifice 28 

Slavery 30 

Industries 30 

Coiu-iers 33 

Amusements 33 

Education 36 

11.    THE  CHILD  IN  PERU 39-51 

The  people 39 

Buildings 41 

Dress 41 

Food,  drink,  narcotics 42 

Marriage 43 

Care  and  treatment  of  children 44 

The  Virgins  of  the  Sun 44 

Human  sacrifice 45 

Industries 45 

Training  of  the  Inca  and  the  Order  of  the  Huaracu    ...  49 

Education 50 

III.    THE  CHILD   IN  EGYPT 62-84 

The  country 52 

The  people 53 

Slavery 54 

The  home 55 

Women  and  marriage 67 

Child  and  parent 68 

Dress 69 

Food  and  drink 62 

Food  and  clothing  of  children 64 

Industries 65 

Sickness  and  death        74 

Child  and  religion 76 

Amusements 76 

9 


10  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Games,  plays,  and  toys 81 

Education 82 

IV.    THE  CHILD  IN   INDIA        85-103 

Caste        85 

Women  and  marriage 85 

Boys  and  girls 96 

Infanticide 97 

Dress 98 

Amusements 98 

Rites 99 

Adoption 99 

Inheritance 100 

Education 100 

V.     THE  CHILD   IN   CHINA 104^129 

Women  and  marriage 104 

Infancy 112 

Boys  and  girls 115 

Child  and  parent 116 

Deformation  of  the  feet 117 

Amusements 118 

Dress 121 

Religion 122 

Education 123 

VI.     THE  CHILD  IN  JAPAN 130-160 

Women 130 

Marriage 134 

The  mother's  memorial 138 

Dress        140 

Regulations 140 

The  care  of  children 143 

Naming  cliildren 145 

Carrjdng  children 145 

Adoption  and  inheritance 145 

Power  and  duty  of  father 146 

Amusements 146 

Lore 152 

Religion 155 

Suicide 155 

Work        156 

Education 157 

VII.    THE  CHILD  IN  PERSIA 161-166 

Characteristics 161 

Women  and  marriage 161 

Dress 163 

Child  and  parent 163 

Inheritance 163 

Amusements 164 

Education 164 

VIII.     THE  CHILD  IN  JUDEA 167-176 

Historical 167 

Women  and  marriage 167 


Contents  11 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Care  and  treatment  of  children 170 

Duties  of  children 171 

Dress        171 

Amusements 173 

Education 173 

IX.     THE   CHILD   IN   GREECE 177-211 

Physical  characteristics 177 

The  people 177 

The  home 178 

Girls  and  women 178 

Marriage 182 

Dress        186 

Food 190 

Child  and  parent 191 

Care  of  children 191 

Infanticide 193 

Duties  of  children 194 

Adoption  and  inheritance 194 

Toys  and  playthings 194 

Games  and  plays 195 

Sports  and  festivals 197 

Other  amusements 199 

Sickness  and  death 201 

Religion 202 

Education 203 

X.     THE  CHILD  IN   ROME 212-263 

Characteristics 212 

The  people 213 

Slavery 214 

The  home 215 

Women 218 

Marriage 224 

Dress        231 

Food 237 

Child  and  parent 238 

Names 239 

Care  and  treatment  of  children 239 

Citizenship 240 

Inheritance 241 

Adoption 242 

Sickness  and  death        243 

Industries 246 

The  spectacles 249 

Other  amusements 253 

The  bath 254 

Games  and  plays 254 

Religion 255 

Vestal  Virgins 255 

Education 257 

XI.    THE  CHILD  IN  EARLIER  AND  MEDIEVAL  EUROPE  264-3 12 

Historical  and  critical 264 

Feudalism 265 

The  feudal  castle  and  its  life 267 


12  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Chivalry 268 

The  peasantry 271 

The  town  people 273 

lThe  aristocracy 275 

The  home 276 

Women 277 

Marriage 279 

Dress 282 

Pood 285 

Children  of  the  ancient  Britons 287 

Children  among  the  early  Christians 289 

Child  and  parent 289 

Care  and  treatment  of  children 290 

Apprenticeship 290 

Military  training  for  the  young 291 

Amusements 292 

Education 296 

The  children's  crusade        302 

Other  chUd-pilgrimages 310 

XII.    THE  CHILD  IN  EARLIER  UNITED  STATES     .  313-455 

Customs  relating  to  land 313 

The  people 314 

Slavery 316 

Servants 318 

The  home 322 

Women 334 

Marriage 336 

Dress 348 

Infants'  clothing 359 

Boys'  clothing 360 

Girls'  clothing 361 

Food 364 

Drink 369 

Food  and  drink  of  children 374 

Infancy 376 

Number  and  names  of  children 379 

Child  welfare 380 

Manners  and  courtesy  of  children 382 

Diary  of  a  Boston  school  girl  of  1771 384 

Inheritance 388 

Sickness  and  death .  389 

The  illness  of  children 396 

Amusements 398 

Games  and  sports  of  children  and  young  people      .      .     .  407 

Children's  toys  and  story  books 412 

Holidays  and  festivals 413 

Public  punishments 416 

Manufactures 421 

Boys'  work  and  manufactures 422 

Girls'  and  women's  work 423 

Religion 428 

The  child  and  religion 438 

Education 442 

INDEX        457 


THE  HISTORICAL  CHILD 


THE  HISTORICAL  CHILD 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   CHILD  IN   MEXICO 

The  People.  When  the  Spaniards  entered  Mexico,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  conquered  it,  they  found  the 
ruling  people  to  be  the  Aztecs  and  whose  capital  city, 
Tenochtitlan  (Mexico  City),  was  on  an  island  in  the  lake 
of  Tezcoco.  The  Aztecs  were  not  the  first  inhabitants  of 
Mexico  as  they  had  entered  the  country  some  five  hundred 
years  before  the  Spanish  conquest  and  through  alliances  and 
conquests  had  become  the  ruling  power  about  a  century  be- 
fore the  appearance  of  the  Spaniards.  The  people  whom  the 
Aztecs  found  when  they  entered  Mexico  told  them  of  a  great 
people  who  had  lived  before  their  time  and  the  ruins  of 
whose  great  buildings  remained  and  still  exist  to  the  pres- 
ent day  and  who  were  designated  the  Toltecs.  It  has  been 
claimed  for  the  Toltecs  a  very  high  state  of  civilization,  much 
in  advance  of  the  Aztecs,  and  some  even  holding  that  it 
really  equaled  the  civilization  of  the  present  time. 

Mexico  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  by  the  Spaniards  was 
a  monarchy,  in  which  the  king  stood  supreme  as  he  was  a 
priest  of  their  great  god,  commander-in-chief  of  the  military 
forces,  and  supreme  judge.  The  throne,  however,  was  not 
hereditary,  as  upon  a  vacancy  a  ruler  was  selected  by  four 
officers  appointed  for  that  purpose  by  the  nobles  and  prin- 
cipal officials  of  the  kingdom.  The  king  was  usually  taken 
from  the  ruling  family  and  might  have  been  a  brother  of  the 
late  ruler  or  a  nephew  belonging  to  an  elder  branch.  The 
office-holders  were  usually  appointed  for  life  and  at  their 
death  the  vacancies  were  filled  by  appointment  by  the  king. 
The  people  were  divided  into  classes.  The  highest  class  was 
a  landed  aristocracy,  who  paid  no  definite  taxes  but  owed 

15 


16  The  Historical  Child 

service  to  the  king;  a  second  class,  who  ranked  with  the 
landed  aristocracy,  was  a  military  nobility  who  held  land 
at  the  king's  goodwill;  the  next  class  embraced  the  freemen, 
who  held  land  in  common  and  paid  taxes  in  common ;  below 
these  were  a  class  of  freemen  who  rented  the  lands  of  the 
lord  and  made  payment  to  him  for  the  same ;  and  the  lowest 
of  all  were  the  serfs,  who  were  bound  to  the  soil.  They  main- 
tained a  military  system  and  made  war  upon  neighboring 
tribes :  at  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards  this  seemed 
to  have  been  carried  on  mostly  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
captives  for  the  human  sacrifices  demanded  by  their  religion. 
They  had  an  elaborate  and  efficient  judicial  system  and  the 
laws  seem  to  have  been  justly  administered  to  all  alike, 
whether  the  ones  before  the  courts  were  of  higher  rank  or 
of   the   common    people. 

Women  and  Marriage.  The  women  were  described  by 
the  Spaniards  as  being  pretty,  with  long  black  hair,  and  with 
a  serious  and  rather  melancholy  cast  of  countenance.  It 
would  appear  that  they  were  treated  with  much  considera- 
tion by  the  men  who  permitted  them  to  engage  in  festivities 
and  entertainments  equally  with  themselves. 

Marriage  was  an  important  institution  with  the  Mexicans 
and  it  was  held  in  such  high  esteem  that  there  was  a  tribunal 
appointed  for  the  sole  purpose  of  attending  to  matters  re- 
lating to  it.  The  customary  age  with  men  for  marriage  was 
about  twenty,  women  marrying  at  a  younger  age.  When  a 
young  man  reached  this  age  it  became  his  duty  to  marry 
and  sometimes  the  high  priest  commanded  it  of  him.  The 
selection  of  the  bride  was  made  by  the  parents  and  if  a 
young  man  refused  to  abide  by  his  parents'  decision  and 
made  his  own  choice,  he  was  looked  upon  as  being  quite  un- 
grateful to  his  parents.  Should  he  refuse  to  marry,  it  was 
his  duty  to  remain  continent  through  his  life  and  devote  him- 
self to  the  service  of  the  gods.  Should  he  afterward  decide 
to  marry,  he  was  despised  by  his  friends  and  publicly  de- 
nounced for  not  keeping  his  vow  to  the  gods  and  no  respec- 
table woman  would  marry  him. 

When  the  parents  had  decided  it  was  time  for  their  son 
to  marry,  all  the  relatives  were  called  together  and  a  feast 
given  at  which  the  father  announced  to  them  that  the  son 
was  of  proper  age  to  be  married.  The  son  was  then  informed 
that  his  parents  were  about  to  select  a  bride  for  him,  to 
which  the  young  man  gave  consent.     Then  they  called  in 


The  Child  in  Mexico  17 

the  priests  under  whom  the  young  man  had  received  his 
education  and  their  permission  was  obtained  and  one  of  the 
priests  addressed  the  young  man  with  advice  for  the  occa- 
sion. The  next  step  was  to  ascertain  the  day  and  sign  of  the 
young  man's  birth  and  also  the  birthday  and  sign  of  the 
young  woman,  which  was  obtained  through  astrologers  or 
soothsayers.  If  the  horoscopes  of  both  were  favorable  and 
showed  that  the  union  would  have  good  fortune  all  was 
well;  if  not,  another  girl  had  to  be  selected.  If  the  augurs 
were  favorable  to  the  union,  two  discreet  and  virtuous  el- 
derly women  were  called  in  as  go-betweens.  These  women 
were  given  their  directions  and  they  called  upon  the  parents 
of  the  bride  and  after  a  second  visit  preliminaries  were  ar- 
ranged. 

The  parents  of  the  girl  then  called  in  the  relatives  and 
friends  and  informed  them  of  the  affair  and  the  girl  was 
given  much  advice  by  them.  Then  their  decision  was  sent  to 
the  parents  of  the  young  man.  A  favorable  day  for  the  mar- 
riage was  found  by  the  augurs  and  both  families  made  prep- 
arations for  the  day  of  marriage  and  sent  out  invitations  to 
relatives  and  friends.  On  the  day  set  for  the  marriage  the 
relatives  and  friends  of  the  bride  went  to  her  home  as  did 
also  some  of  the  bridegroom's  relatives  and  friends  and  in 
procession  escorted  her  to  his  home,  where  the  best  room 
in  the  house  had  been  fitted  up  for  the  occasion  and  the 
house  festooned  with  green  branches  and  garlands  of  flow- 
ers. The  bridegroom  met  the  bride  at  the  entrance  to  his 
home  and  took  her  by  the  hand  and  led  her  into  the  room 
for  the  ceremony.  They  were  then  seated  upon  a  special 
mat,  the  woman  at  the  left  of  the  man.  The  mother  of  the 
bridegroom  gave  presents  to  the  bride  and  the  mother  of  the 
bride  gave  presents  to  the  bridegroom.  Then  the  priest  made 
a  long  talk  to  the  couple,  defining  their  duties  to  one  an- 
other and  toward  the  married  state.  The  couple  then  arose 
and  the  priest  tied  the  end  of  the  man's  mantle  to  the  dress 
of  the  woman.  A  feast  was  then  partaken  of  but  in  which 
the  couple  did  not  participate  as  they  were  required  to  spend 
four  days  in  fasting  and  prayer  in  the  room,  closely  guarded 
by  old  women.  Upon  the  fourth  night  two  priests  prepared 
a  couch  of  two  mats  and  the  young  people  were  left  to  them- 
selves. The  next  day  they  underwent  a  baptismal  ceremony 
and  they  were  adorned  with  new  apparel  and  some  more 
advice   was   given  them   by   the  mothers-in-law   or  nearest 


18  The  Historical  Child 

relatives,  another  feast  was  given  of  which  they  partook,  and 
the  marriage  ceremony  was  then  fully  completed. 

Cousins  w^ere  allowed  to  marry  but  not  nearer  relatives. 
As  a  rule  a  widow  was  not  permitted  to  remarry  except  a 
brother  of  her  deceased  husband  and  in  case  she  had  children 
by  the  first  marriage,  then  it  was  the  duty  of  the  brother-in- 
law  to  marry  her  that  the  children  might  not  be  without  the 
care  and  protection  of  a  father.  Divorce  was  allowed  but 
only  after  a  careful  hearing  by  the  tribunal  on  marriage,  and 
when  a  divorce  was  granted  the  couple  could  not  under  any 
circumstances  be  reunited.  Concubinage  was  practiced  and 
it  might  occur  even  with  young  people  under  marriageable 
age  upon  the  consent  of  the  parents.  In  this  there  was  no 
contract  or  ceremony,  the  two  simply  living  together.  In 
case  a  child  was  born  to  them  a  marriage  was  performed  or 
else  the  woman  returned  to  her  parents'  house,  taking  the 
child  with  her  which  was  then  considered  as  belonging  to 
her  parents.  This  was  not  considered  dishonorable  on  the 
part  of  the  girl  nor  were  her  chances  for  marriage  in  any 
degree  lessened  by  her  having  thus  lived  in  a  state  of  con- 
cubinage. Polygamy  was  permitted  but  perhaps  it  was  not 
greatly  indulged  in  and  it  was  chiefly  among  the  wealthiest 
people.  The  necessity  for  monogamy  seemed  to  be  under- 
stood, as  a  record  is  given  of  a  father  counselling  his  son 
that  for  the  proper  perpetuation  of  the  race  but  one  man  is 
ordained  but  for  one  woman. 

Birth.  As  soon  as  a  woman  was  found  to  be  pregnant 
the  relatives  and  friends  were  informed  of  it  and  a  feast 
was  prepared,  to  which  all  were  invited  who  had  been  pres- 
ent at  the  wedding.  Speeches  of  congratulations  and  of 
admonition  were  made  to  the  future  parents.  During  the 
period  before  the  birth  of  the  child,  the  mother  was  careful 
and  she  observed  many  rules.  "Thus,  sleeping  in  the  day- 
time would  contort  the  child's  face;  approaching  too  near 
the  fire  or  standing  in  the  hot  sun  would  parch  the  foetus; 
hard  and  continued  work,  lifting  weights,  running,  men- 
tal excitement,  such  as  grief,  anger,  or  alarm,  were  particu- 
larly avoided ;  in  case  of  an  earthquake  all  the  pots  in  the 
house  were  covered  up  or  broken  to  stop  the  shaking;  eating 
tzictli,  or  chicle,  was  thought  to  harden  the  palate  of  the 
unborn  child,  and  to  make  its  gums  thick  so  that  it  would 
be  unable  to  suck,  and  also  to  communicate  to  it  a  disease 
called  netentzzoponiztli;  neither  must  the  edible  earth,  of 


The  Child  in  Mexico  19 

which,  as  we  shall  see  in  a  future  chapter,  the  Mexicans  were 
very  fond,  be  eaten  by  the  mother,  lest  the  child  should 
prove  weak  and  sickly;  but  everything  else  the  woman  fan- 
cied was  to  be  given  her,  because  any  interference  with  her 
caprices  might  be  hurtful  to  her  offspring."  ^  When  the  time 
of  confinement  drew  near  another  feast  was  given  and 
speeches  and  suggestions  were  made.  Among  the  higher 
classes  a  midwife  was  procured  and  careful  preparation  was 
made  for  the  confinement.  A  woman  dying  in  childbirth 
was  honored  by  a  burial  with  great  ceremony.  When  the 
child  was  born,  there  was  rejoicing  with  praises  to  the  mother 
and  congratulations  to  parents  and  grandparents,  and  even 
the  child  itself  was  spoken  to  in  welcoming  words  by  the 
midwife  as  it  was  being  dressed. 

Casting  the  Nativity  of  the  Infant.  Astrology  was  held 
in  high  esteem  by  the  Mexicans  and  it  was  used  to  decide 
the  fortune  of  the  infant.  On  the  birth  of  a  child  the  as- 
trologer was  summoned  and  upon  being  told  the  time  of  the 
event  he  cast  the  horoscope  of  the  infant.  If  the  augury  was 
favorable  he  told  of  the  great  fortune  coming  to  the  child 
and  of  the  honors  and  happiness  to  fall  upon  him.  Should 
the  augury  prove  unfavorable,  it  was  made  less  severe  by 
the  horoscopist  who  found  accompanying  signs  that  helped 
allay  the  evil  coming  from  the  bad  omens. 

Baptising  and  Naming  the  Child.  The  rite  of  baptism 
was  early  performed  upon  the  child,  at  which  time  it  was 
given  a  name.  The  house  was  decorated  with  branches  and 
flowers,  a  feast  was  prepared,  and  relatives  and  friends  in- 
vited. Miniature  weapons  were  used,  if  a  boy,  to  show  that 
he  was  born  a  warrior,  and,  if  a  girl,  small  weaving  utensils 
as  symbols  of  her  future  calling  of  housewife.  The  child,  if 
a  boy,  was  usually  named  from  the  sign  of  the  day  or  a  bird 
or  animal,  and,  if  a  girl,  was  named  from  a  flower.  Some- 
times a  child  took  its  name  from  some  important  event  which 
occurred  at  the  time  of  its  birth.  A  solemn  invocation  to 
the  gods  was  made,  after  which  the  head  and  lips  of  the  in- 
fant were  touched  with  water,  the  name  was  given  to  it, 
and  then  it  was  lifted  up  to  heaven  and  a  prayer  of  blessing 
said  over  it. 

Care  and  Treatment  of  Children.  Upon  the  arrival  of  a 
child  Into  a  family,  friends  and  neighbors  congratulated  them 

'Bancroft,  Native  races  of  Pacific  states,  II,  267. 


20  The  Historical  Child 

upon  such,  for  it  was  deemed  quite  a  blessing.  Although 
children  were  welcomed,  yet  the  discipline  of  younger  chil- 
dren was  rather  severe  and  children  were  tauglit  to  reverence 
and  obey  their  parents  and  superiors.  Both  boys  and  girls 
were  carefully  reared  by  the  best  parents. 

The  following  admonitions  of  a  father  to  his  son  show  how 
greatly  these  ancient  Mexicans  would  have  their  children  ob- 
serve a  right  living: — 

"My  son,  who  art  come  into  this  light  from  the  womb  of 
thy  mother,  like  the  chicken  from  the  egg,  and  like  it,  art 
preparing  to  fly  through  the  world,  we  know  not  how  long 
heaven  will  grant  to  us  the  enjoyment  of  that  precious  gem 
which  we  possess  in  thee;  but,  however  short  is  the  period, 
endeavor  to  live  exactly,  praying  God  continually  to  assist 
thee.  He  created  thee;  thou  art  His  property.  He  is  thy 
Father,  and  loves  thee  still  more  than  I  do;  repose  in  Him 
thy  thoughts,  and  day  and  night  direct  thy  sighs  to  Him. 
Reverence  and  salute  thy  elders,  and  hold  no  one  in  con- 
tempt. To  the  poor  and  the  distressed  be  not  dumb,  but  rather 
use  words  of  comfort.  Honor  all  persons,  particularly  thy 
parents,  to  whom  thou  owest  obedience,  respect,  service. 
Guard  against  imitating  the  example  of  those  wicked  sons 
who,  like  brutes,  that  are  deprived  of  reason,  neither  rever- 
ence their  parents,  listen  to  their  instruction,  nor  submit  to 
their  correction ;  because,  whoever  follows  their  steps  will 
have  an  unhappy  end,  will  die  in  a  desperate  or  sudden 
manner,  or  will  be  killed  and  devoured  by  wild  beasts.  .  .  . 

"When  any  one  discourses  with  thee,  hear  him  attentively, 
and  hold  thyself  in  an  easy  attitude,  neither  playing  with 
thy  feet,  nor  putting  thy  mantle  to  thy  mouth,  nor  spitting 
too  often,  nor  looking  about  you  here  and  there,  nor  rising 
up  frequently  if  thou  art  sitting;  for  such  actions  are  indica- 
tions of  levity  and  low  breeding. 

"When  thou  art  at  table  do  not  eat  voraciously,  nor  show 
thy  displeasure  if  anj'thing  displeases  thee.  If  any  one  comes 
unexpectedly  to  dinner  with  thee,  share  with  him  what  thou 
hast ;  and  when  any  person  is  entertained  by  thee,  do  not  fix 
thy  looks  upon  him. 

"In  walking,  look  where  thou  goest,  that  thou  mayest  not 
push  against  any  one.  If  thou  seest  another  coming  thy  way, 
go  a  little  aside  to  give  him  room  to  pass.  Never  step  before 
thy  elders,  unless  it  be  necessary,  or  that  they  order  thee  to 
do  so.    When  thou  sittest  at  talsle  with  them,  do  not  eat  or 


The  Child  in  Mexico  21 

drink  before  them,  but  attend  to  them  in  a  becoming  manner, 
that  thou  mayest  merit  their  favor. 

"When  they  give  thee  anything,  accept  it  with  tokens  of 
gratitude;  if  the  present  is  great,  do  not  become  vain  or 
fond  of  it.  If  the  gift  is  small,  do  not  despise  it,  nor  be  pro- 
voked, nor  occasion  displeasure  to  them  who  favor  thee.  If 
thou  becomest  rich,  do  not  grow  insolent  nor  scorn  the  poor; 
for  those  very  gods  who  deny  riches  to  others  in  order  to  give 
them  to  thee,  offended  by  thy  pride,  will  take  them  from  thee 
again  to  give  to  others. 

"Support  thyself  by  thy  own  labors;  for  then  thy  food 
will  be  sweeter.  I,  my  son,  have  supported  thee  hitherto  with 
my  sweat,  and  have  omitted  no  duty  of  a  father ;  I  have  pro- 
vided thee  with  everything  necessarj^  without  taking  it  from 
others.     Do  thou  so  likewise.  .  .  . 

"Stay  no  longer  than  is  necessary  in  the  market-place; 
for  in  such  places  there  is  the  greatest  danger  of  contracting 
vices. 

"When  thou  art  offered  an  employment^  imagme  that  the 
proposal  is  made  to  try  thee;  then  accept  it  not  hastily,  al- 
though thou  knowest  thyself  more  fit  than  others  to  exercise 
it;  but  excuse  thyself  until  thou  art  obliged  to  accept  it; 
thus  thou  wilt  be  more  esteemed. 

"Be  not  dissolute;  because  thou  wilt  thereby  incense  the 
gods,  and  they  will  cover  thee  with  infamy.  Restrain  thyself, 
my  son,  as  thou  are  yet  young,  and  wait  until  the  girl  whom 
the  gods  destine  for  thy  wife  arrives  at  a  suitable  age ;  leave 
that  to  their  care,  as  they  know  how  to  order  these  things 
properly.  When  the  time  for  thy  marriage  is  come,  dare 
not  to  make  it  without  the  consent  of  thy  parents,  otherwise  it 
will  have  an  unhappy  issue. 

"Steal  not  nor  give  thyself  up  to  gaming;  otherwise,  thou 
wilt  be  a  disgrace  to  thy  parents,  whom  thou  ought  rather  to 
honor  for  the  education  they  have  given  to  thee.  If  thou 
wilt  be  virtuous,  thy  example  will  put  the  wicked  to  shame. 
No  more,  my  son,  enough  hath  been  said  in  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  a  father.  With  these  counsels  I  wish  to  fortify  thy 
mind.  Refuse  them  not,  nor  act  in  contradiction  to  them ; 
for  on  them  thy  life  and  thy  happiness  depend."^ 

The  girl  was  nQt  degraded  among  the  Mexicans,  and  she 

'Barnes,  Studies  in  education,  I,  75.  ("The  History  of  Mexico. 
By  Francesco  S.  Clavigero.  Translated  by  Chas.  CuUen,  London,  1787, 
vol.  I.,  pp.  335  et  seq.") 


22  The  Historical  Child 

was  treated  with  tenderness  and  love.  How  well  cared  for 
was  the  girl  is  attested  by  the  following  advice  of  an  Aztec 
mother  to  her  daughter: — 

"My  daughter,  born  of  my  substance,  brought  forth  with 
my  pains,  and  nourished  with  my  milk,  I  have  endeavored 
to  bring  thee  up  with  the  greatest  possible  care,  and  thy 
father  has  wrought  and  polished  thee  like  an  emerald,  that 
thou  may  est  appear  in  the  eyes  of  men  a  jewel  of  virtue. 
Strive  always  to  be  good;  for  otherwise  who  will  have  thee 
for  a  wife?  Thou  wilt  be  rejected  by  every  one.  Life  is  a 
thorny,  laborious  path,  and  it  is  necessary  to  exert  all  our 
powers  to  obtain  the  goods  which  the  gods  are  willing  to 
yield  to  us;  we  must  not  therefore  be  lazy  or  negligent,  but 
diligent  in  everything.  Be  orderly  and  take  pains  to  man- 
age the  economy  of  thy  house.  Give  water  to  thy  husband 
for  his  hands,  and  make  bread  for  thy  family.  Wherever 
thou  goest,  go  with  modesty  and  composure,  without  hurry- 
ing thy  steps,  or  laughing  with  those  whom  thou  meetest, 
neither  fixing  thy  looks  upon  them  nor  casting  thy  eyes 
thoughtlessly,  first  to  one  side  and  then  to  another,  that  thy 
reputation  may  not  be  sullied;  but  give  a  courteous  answer 
to  those  who  salute  and  put  any  question  to  thee. 

**  Employ  thyself  diligently  in  spinning  and  weaving,  in 
sewing  and  embroidering ;  for  by  these  arts  thou  wilt  gain 
esteem,  and  all  the  necessaries  of  food  and  clothing.  Do  not 
give  thyself  too  much  to  sleep,  nor  seek  the  shade,  but  go  in 
the  open  air  and  there  repose  thyself,  for  effeminancy  brings 
along  with  it  idleness  and  other  vices. 

"In  whatever  thou  doest  encourage  not  evil  thoughts  but 
attend  solely  to  the  service  of  the  gods,  and  the  giving  com- 
fort to  thy  parents.  If  thy  father  or  thy  mother  calls  thee, 
do  not  stay  to  be  called  twice ;  but  go  instantly  to  know  their 
pleasure,  that  thou  mayest  not  disoblige  them  by  slow- 
ness. Return  no  insolent  answers,  nor  show  any  want  of  com- 
pliance ;  but  if  thou  canst  not  do  what  they  command,  make 
a  modest  excuse.  If  another  is  called  and  does  not  come 
quickly,  come  thou,  hear  what  is  ordered,  and  do  it  well. 
Never  offer  thyself  to  do  that  which  thou  canst  not  do.  De- 
ceive no  person ;  for  the  gods  see  all  thy  actions.  Live  in 
peace  with  everybody,  and  love  everyone  .sincerely  and  hon- 
estly, that  thou  mayest  be  loved  by  them  in  return. 

' '  Be  not  greedy  of  the  goods  which  thou  hast.  If  thou  seest 
anything  presented  to  another,  give  way  to  no  mean  suspi- 


The  Child  in  Mexico  23 

cions;  for  the  gods,  to  whom  every  good  belongs,  distribute 
everything  as  they  please.  If  thou  wouldst  avoid  the  dis- 
pleasure of  others,  let  none  meet  with  it  from  thee. 

"Guard  against  improper  familiarities  with  men;  nor  yield 
to  the  guilty  wishes  of  thy  heart;  or  thou  wilt  be  the  re- 
proach of  thy  family,  and  wilt  pollute  thy  mind  as  mud 
does  water.  Keep  not  company  with  dissolute,  lying,  or  idle 
women ;  otherwise  they  will  infallibly  infect  thee  by  their 
example.  Attend  upon  thy  family,  and  do  not  go  on  slight 
occasions  out  of  thy  house,  nor  be  seen  wandering  through  the 
streets,  or  in  the  market-place ;  for  in  such  places  thou  wilt 
meet  thy  ruin.  Remember  that  vice,  like  a  poisonous  herb, 
brings  death  to  those  who  taste  it;  and  when  it  once  harbors 
in  the  mind  it  is  difficult  to  dispel  it.  If  in  passing  through 
the  streets  thou  meetest  with  a  froward  youth  who  appears 
agreeable  to  thee,  give  him  no  correspondence,  but  dissemble 
and  pass  on.  If  he  says  anything  to  thee,  take  no  heed  of 
him  nor  his  words ;  and  if  he  follows  thee,  turn  not  your  face 
about  to  look  at  him,  lest  that  might  inflame  his  passion 
more.  If  thou  behavest  so,  he  will  soon  turn  and  let  thee 
proceed  in  peace. 

"Enter  not  without  some  urgent  motive  into  another's 
house,  that  nothing  may  be  either  said  or  thought  injurious 
to  thy  honor,  but  if  thou  enterest  into  the  house  of  thy  rela- 
tions, salute  them  with  respect  and  do  not  remain  idle,  but 
immediately  take  up  a  spindle  to  spin  or  do  any  other  thing 
that  occurs. 

"When  thou  art  married,  respect  thy  husband,  obey  him, 
and  diligently  do  what  he  commands  thee.  Avoid  incurring 
his  displeasure,  nor  show  thyself  passionate  or  ill-natured; 
but  receive  him  fondly  to  thy  arms,  even  if  he  is  poor  and 
lives  at  thy  expense.  If  thy  husband  occasions  thee  any 
disgust,  let  him  not  know  thy  displeasure  when  he  commands 
thee  to  do  anything;  but  dissemble  it  at  that  time,  and  after- 
wards tell  him  with  great  gentleness  what  vexed  thee,  that 
he  may  be  won  by  thy  mildness  and  offend  thee  no  farther. 
Dishonor  him  not  before  others ;  for  thou  also  wouldst  be  dis- 
honored. If  any  one  comes  to  visit  thy  husband,  accept  the 
visit  kindly,  and  show  all  the  civility  thou  canst.  If  thy  hus- 
band is  foolish,  be  thou  discreet.  If  he  fails  in  the  manage- 
ment of  wealth  admonish  him  of  his  failings;  but  if  he  is 
totally  incapable  of  taking  care  of  his  estate,  take  that  charge 
upon  thyself,  attend  carefully  to  his  possessions  and  never 


24  The  Eistorical  Child 

omit  to  pay  the  workmen  punctually.    Take  care  not  to  lose 
anything  through  negligence. 

"Embrace,  my  daughter,  the  counsel  which  I  give  thee. 
I  am  already  advanced  in  life,  and  have  had  sufficient  deal- 
ings with  the  world.  I  am  thy  mother.  I  wish  that  thou 
mayest  live  well.  Fix  my  precepts  in  thy  heart  and  bowels, 
for  then  thou  wilt  live  happy.  If  by  not  listening  to  me, 
or  by  neglecting  my  instructions,  any  misfortunes  befall  thee, 
the  fault  will  be  thine  and  the  evil  also.  Enough,  my  child. 
May  the  gods  prosper  thee. ' '  ^ 

Dress.  The  men  wore  a  long  broad  girdle  or  sash  with 
the  ends  hanging  down  before  and  behind,  which  sash  often 
was  figured  and  the  ends  fringed  or  tasseled.  They  also 
wore  a  cloak  or  mantle,  which  was  thrown  over  the  shoulders 
and  tied  around  the  neck.  The  women  wore  a  short  tunic, 
usually  without  sleeves,  and  with  it  a  short  skirt  under  which 
they  would  wear  another  skirt  of  longer  length,  these  skirts 
often  being  embroidered  and  ornamented.  Over  tunic  and 
skirt  they  would  wear  a  long  loose  robe,  which  might  have  at 
its  upper  part  a  hood  attached,  for  wearing  over  the  head. 
The  material  first  used  for  clothing  was  of  skins  and  later 
of  maguey  and  cotton.  Mantles  of  fur  and  of  feather-work 
were  also  worn  in  cooler  weather  by  both  men  and  women. 
They  wore  sandals  made  of  deer  and  other  skins  and  also 
of  nequen  and  cotton. 

The  ordinary  way  of  wearing  the  hair  was  to  cut  it  short 
on  the  forehead  and  temples  and  let  it  grow  at  the  back. 
Unmarried  girls  wore  their  hair  loose,  while  the  virgins  who 
served  in  the  temple  had  their  hair  cut  short.  In  some  parts 
the  heads  of  the  children  were  shaved,  with  a  tuft  left  behind. 
Women  after  marriage  on  becoming  mothers  would  sometimes 
let  their  hair  grow  on  all  parts  and  arrange  it  on  the  head; 
one  way  was  to  plait  it  and  cross  it  on  the  forehead,  another 
way  was  to  braid  it  and  ornament  it  with  flowers.  Also, 
sometimes  the  women  would  use  a  dye  made  of  herbs  on  their 
hair,  which  gave  it  a  violet  shade. 

The  women  used  paint  on  their  faces,  one  fashion  was  to 
paint  the  face  yellow  and  with  a  pottery  stamp  impress  a 
pattern  of  red  upon  the  cheeks.  They  painted  the  teeth  with 
cochineal  and  also  they  painted  the  hands,  neck,  and  breast. 
Among  some  peoples  the  women  had  their  arms  and  breasts 
tattooed,  incisions  being  made  with  a  sharp  instrument  and 

'  Barnes,  Studies  in  education  I,  76-78. 


The  Child  in  Mexico  25 

a  blue  color  inserted.  Ornaments  were  worn  by  the  men, 
women,  and  children,  and  by  all  classes  of  people.  The  high- 
er classes  used  gold  and  gems,  while  people  of  the  lower 
classes  used  shell  and  obsidian.  There  were  a  great  variety 
of  ornaments  made  for  the  arms  and  neck  and  attached  to 
garments.  Eings  were  worn  on  the  fingers  and  rings  and 
plugs  in  the  ears.  There  also  were  rings  and  plugs  for  the 
nose  and  plugs  for  the  lips,  although  it  would  appear  that 
these  were  not  so  much  in  use  as  were  the  other  ornaments. 
**  There  existed  very  stringent  laws  regarding  the  class  of 
ornaments  which  the  different  classes  of  people  were  allowed 
to  wear,  and  it  was  prohibited,  on  pain  of  death,  for  a  subject 
to  use  the  same  dress  or  ornaments  as  the  king."* 

Food  and  Drink.  There  was  quite  a  variety  of  foodstuffs 
in  Mexico.  Maize  was  the  principal  product  but  also  there 
was  great  use  made  of  other  grain,  yams,  and  beans,  and 
there  were  fruits,  as  the  banana  and  plantain.  Their  supply 
of  meat  was  obtained  very  greatly  from  the  game  animals, 
among  which  were  deer,  wild  hogs,  rabbits,  quails,  pigeons, 
ducks,  turkeys,  and  geese.  Turkeys,  ducks,  and  geese  were 
domesticated,  having  been  raised  for  their  feathers  as  well 
as  for  food.  Fish  was  another  important  article  of  food  and 
both  salt  water  and  fresh  water  varieties  were  procured  in 
abundance. 

* '  Miscellaneous  articles  of  food,  not  already  spoken  of,  were 
axayacatl,  flies  of  the  Mexican  lakes,  dried,  ground,  boiled, 
and  eaten  in  the  form  of  cakes;  ahuauhtli,  the  eggs  of  the 
same  fly,  a  kind  of  native  caviar ;  many  kinds  of  insects,  ants, 
maguey-worms,  and  even  lice ;  tecuitlatl,  '  excrement  of  stone,  * 
a  slime  that  was  gathered  on  the  surface  of  the  lakes,  and 
dried  till  it  resembled  cheese;  eggs  of  turkeys,  iguanas,  and 
turtles,  roasted,  boiled,  and  in  omelettes;  various  reptiles, 
frogs,  and  frog-spawn;  shrimps,  sardines,  and  crabs;  corn- 
silk,  wild-amaranth  seeds,  cherry-stones,  tule-roots,  and  very 
many  other  articles  inexpressible;  yucca  flour,  potoyucca, 
tunas;  honey  from  maize,  from  bees,  and  from  the  maguey; 
and  roasted  portions  of  the  maguey  stalks  and  leaves."^ 

There  were  three  meals  a  day,  morning,  noon,  and  night, 
and  among  the  higher  class,  at  least,  banquets  and  feasts  were 
quite  numerous.  The  food  was  cooked  and  eaten  from  pots, 
bowls,  and  dishes  of  pottery.    Maize,  when  green,  was  boiled 

*  Bancroft,  Native  races  of  Pacific  states,  II,  372. 
^Ibid.,  II,  356. 


26  The  Historical  Child 

and  eaten,  as  roasting-ears  with  us  now,  and  when  dry  it 
was  sometimes  parched  or  roasted.  It  was  usually  ground 
into  meal  and  prepared  in  the  form  of  cakes.  To  prepare 
the  meal,  the  grain  was  thrown  into  boiling  water,  in  which 
lime  had  been  placed,  and  then  the  hull  was  removed.  It 
was  then  washed  and  ground  on  grinding-stones,  called 
metlatl,  and  then  kneaded  and  rolled  into  cakes  and  baked, 
there  having  been  many  kinds  of  cakes.  The  meal  was  also 
boiled  and  made  into  porridge  or  gruel.  Beans  were  boiled 
when  green  and  also  when  dry.  Meats  were  stewed,  boiled, 
and  roasted.  Pepper  was  quite  freely  used,  as  was  also  salt. 
Fruits  were  eaten  raw,  although  some,  as  the  plantain  and 
banana,  were  roasted  and  stewed. 

There  were  two  national  drinks,  octli  and  cJiocolatl,  now 
known  as  pulque  and  chocolate,  the  first  an  intoxicant  made 
from  the  maguey  and  the  second  from  the  cacao.  There  were 
other  fermented  drinks  prepared  from  grain,  and  a  kind  of 
mushroom  was  used  to  put  into  drinks  to  make  them  more 
intoxicating.  Intoxication  was  excusable  in  older  people  but 
the  young  people  were  severely  punished  for  it  and  even  in 
case  of  intemperance  death  was  the  punishment  paid  to  the 
young  while  with  the  older  persons  only  loss  of  rank  and 
property  was  the  punishment. 

Tobacco  was  used  by  the  Llexicans,  having  been  smoked 
in  pipes  or  in  the  form  of  cigars,  and  also  it  was  made  into 
snuff  and  used.  "A  kind  of  chewing-gum  was  prepared  from 
resin  or  bitumen,  though  its  use,  at  any  rate  in  public,  was 
confined  by  custom  to  unmarried  girls. ' '  ^ 

Human  flesh  also  was  eaten.  This  was  not  used  as  a  com- 
mon food  but  as  a  religious  rite.  The  sacrifice  was  made  on 
an  elevated  place  and  after  the  victim's  heart  was  taken  out 
as  an  offering  to  the  gods,  and  if  a  warrior  his  head  was  taken 
off  to  be  preserved  as  a  trophy,  the  body  was  then  east  down 
the  steps  and  taken  by  minor  priests  and  prepared  for  the 
table  as  other  animals.  A  thigh  was  sent  to  the  king's  palace 
and  the  remainder  was  taken  to  the  home  of  the  warrior  who 
captured  the  victim  or  if  a  slave  to  the  house  of  the  owner, 
who  had  the  human  flesh  prepared  with  other  dishes  and 
served  up  in  an  entertainment  to  his  friends.  "This  was  not 
the  coarse  repast  of  famished  cannibals,  but  a  banquet  teem- 
ing with  delicious  beverages  and  delicate  viands,  prepared 
with  art,  and  attended  by  both  sexes,  who,  as  we  shall  see 

•Joyce,  Mexican  archaeology,  156. 


The  Child  in  Mexico  27 

hereafter,  conducted  themselves  with  all  the  decorum  of  civ- 
ilized life."^ 

Although  the  eating  of  human  flesh  by  the  ancient  Mexicans 
was  not  merely  to  satisfy  the  appetite  for  such  food  but  in 
obedience  to  religion,  yet  there  must  have  been  quite  a  good 
deal  of  partaking  of  it  as  the  number  of  human  sacrifices 
each  year  was  very  great.  Too,  must  be  kept  in  view,  the 
sacrifices  included  men  and  women,  quite  often  young  people, 
and  likewise  children,  even  infants.  One  peculiar  custom 
was  that  the  giver  of  the  feast  where  the  body  of  a  human 
sacrifice  was  served  did  not  partake  of  the  flesh  of  his  own 
captive,  having  been  disbarred  from  this  because  he  was  sup- 
posed to  stand  to  the  victim  in  the  relation  of  father  to 
son. 

Lore.  "Various  portents  were  drawn  from  the  animal 
world ;  the  cries  of  beasts  of  prey  at  night  were  supposed  to 
forbode  disaster  to  those  who  heard  them,  and  the  voices  of 
certain  birds  were  believed  equally  unlucky.  The  owl,  so 
closely  associated  with  Mictlantecutli,  was  especially  re- 
garded as  the  harbinger  of  ill-fortune  and  death,  and  if  one 
of  these  birds  perched  upon  the  house  of  a  sick  man  his 
demise  was  considered  certain.  It  was  held  unlucky  to  en- 
counter a  skunk  or  a  weasel,  and  the  entry  into  the  house  of 
a  rabbit  or  a  troop  of  ants  foreboded  bad  luck.  If  a  certain 
kind  of  spider  was  found  in  the  house,  the  owner  traced  a 
cross  upon  the  ground,  at  the  center  of  which  he  placed  the 
insect.  If  it  went  towards  the  north,  the  direction  of  the 
underworld,  it  was  regarded  as  a  sign  of  death  for  the  ob- 
server, any  other  direction  foretelling  misfortune  of  minor 
importance. 

"Besides  these  superstitions  there  were  a  whole  host  of 
popular  beliefs,  of  which  only  a  few  can  be  given  here.  Many 
of  these  were  connected  with  food ;  it  was  customary  to  blow 
upon  maize  before  putting  it  in  the  cooking-pot,  to  'give  it 
courage,'  and  it  was  believed  that  if  a  person  neglected  to 
pick  up  maize-grains  lying  on  the  ground  they  called  out  to 
heaven  to  punish  the  omission.  If  two  brothers  were  drinking, 
and  the  younger  drank  first,  it  was  thought  that  the  elder 
would  cease  to  grow ;  and  it  was  also  believed  that  the  growth 
of  a  child  was  stopped  by  stepping  over  it  when  seated  or 
lying  down,  but  that  the  effect  could  be  averted  by  stepping 
back  again.    Young  girls  were  not  allowed  to  eat  standing, 

'Prescott,  Conquest  of  Mexico,  I,  81. 


28  The  Historical  Child 

for  it  was  believed  they  would  fail  to  get  husbands,  and  chil- 
dren were  prevented  from  licking  the  grindstone  for  fear 
they  would  lose  their  teeth.  When  a  child  lost  one  of  its 
first  teeth,  the  father  or  mother  jjlaced  the  tooth  in  a  mouse- 
hole,  a  proceeding  which  was  supposed  to  ensure  the  growth 
of  the  second  tooth ;  and  all  nail-parings  were  thrown  into 
the  water  in  the  hope  that  the  auitzotl,  a  mythical  water- 
animal  which  was  believed  to  eat  them,  would  make  the  nails 
grow.  Sneezing  was  thought  to  be  a  sign  that  evil  was  being 
spoken  of  the  sneezer,  and  there  was  a  peculiar  belief  that 
the  perfume  of  the  flowers  which  were  carried  at  banquets 
and  in  ceremonial  dances  might  only  be  inhaled  from  the 
edges  of  the  bouquet,  since  the  center  belonged  to  the  god 
Tezcatlipoca."* 

Human  Sacrifice.  The  sad  and  degrading  side  of  the  Aztec 
civilization  was  that  of  human  sacrifice.  The  number  of 
sacrifices  was  very  great,  estimated  from  twenty  to  fifty  thou- 
sand annually,  and  on  one  occasion  alone,  the  dedication  of 
a  great  temple,  no  less  than  seventy  thousand  human  beings 
were  sacrificed  to  the  gods.  The  great  object  of  war,  along 
with  the  desire  for  the  extension  of  the  kingdom,  was  to  ob- 
tain victims  for  the  sacrifices  and  hence  an  enemy  was  never 
slain  in  battle  if  there  was  a  chance  of  taking  him  alive. 
Mostly  the  victims  were  prisoners  of  war  but  slaves  also  were 
used  as  sacrifices.  Sometimes  they  offered  up  children,  gen- 
erally infants,  who  were  obtained  by  the  priests,  purchased 
from  poverty-stricken  parents,  who,  perhaps,  gave  their  chil- 
dren as  much  from  a  sense  of  religious  duty  as  for  money. 
These  children  were  dressed  in  beautiful  garments,  and 
adorned  with  flowers.  They  were  then  carried  in  procession 
of  chanting  priests  through  the  city  to  the  place  of  sacrifice. 
The  cries  they  uttered  were  not  heard  because  of  the  chants 
of  the  priests,  and  the  tears  they  slied  were  favorable  omens. 

These  sacrifices  were  so  conducted  as  to  exhibit  something 
of  prominence  relating  to  the  deity  being  worshipped.  The 
following  illustrates  this: — 

**One  of  their  most  important  festivals  was  that  in  honor 
of  their  god  Tezcatlipoca,  whose  rank  was  inferior  only  to 
that  of  the  Supreme  Being.  He  was  called  'the  soul  of  the 
world,'  and  supposed  to  have  been  its  creator.  He  was  de- 
picted as  a  handsome  man,  endowed  with  perpetual  youth.  A 
year  before  the  intended  sacrifice,  a  captive,  distinguished  for 

'Joyce,  Mexican  arclioBology,  98. 


The  Child  in  Mexico  29 

his  personal  beauty,  and  without  a  blemish  on  his  body,  was 
selected  to  represent  this  deity.  Certain,  tutors  took  charge 
of  him,  and  instructed  him  how  to  perform  his  new  part 
with  becoming  grace  and  dignity.  He  was  arrayed  in  a  splen- 
did dress,  regaled  with  incense  and  with  a  profusion  of  sweet- 
scented  flowers,  of  which  the  ancient  Mexicans  were  as  fond 
as  their  descendants  of  the  present  day.  When  he  went 
abroad,  he  was  attended  by  a  train  of  royal  pages,  and,  as 
he  halted  in  the  streets  to  play  some  favorite  melody,  the 
crowd  prostrated  themselves  before  him,  and  did  him  homage 
as  the  representative  of  their  good  deity.  In  this  way  he  led 
an  easy,  luxurious  life,  till  within  a  month  of  his  sacrifice. 
Four  beautiful  girls,  bearing  the  names  of  the  principal 
goddesses,  were  then  selected  to  share  the  honors  of  his  bed ; 
and  with  them  he  continued  to  live  in  idle  dalliance,  feasted  at 
the  banquets  of  the  principal  nobles,  who  paid  him  all  the 
honors  of  a  divinity. 

*'At  length  the  fatal  day  of  sacrifice  arrived.  The  term  of 
his  short-lived  glories  was  at  an  end.  He  was  stripped  of 
his  gaudy  apparel,  and  bade  adieu  to  the  fair  partners  of 
his  revelries.  One  of  the  royal  barges  transported  him  across 
the  lake  to  a  temple  which  rose  on  its  margin,  about  a  league 
from  the  city.  Hither  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital  flocked, 
to  witness  the  consummation  of  the  ceremony.  As  the  sad 
procession  wound  up  the  sides  of  the  pyramid,  the  unhappy 
victim  threw  away  his  gay  chaplets  of  flowers,  and  broke  in 
pieces  the  musical  instruments  with  which  he  had  solaced  the 
hours  of  captivity.  On  the  summit  he  was  received  by 
six  priests,  whose  long  and  matted  locks  flowed  disorderly 
over  their  sable  robes,  covered  with  hieroglyphic  scrolls  of 
mystic  import.  They  led  him  to  the  sacrificial  stone,  a  huge 
block  of  jasper,  with  its  upper  surface  somewhat  convex.  On 
this  the  prisoner  was  stretched.  Five  priests  secured  his 
head  and  his  limbs ;  while  the  sixth,  clad  in  a  scarlet  mantle, 
emblematic  of  his  bloody  office,  dexterously  opened  the  breast 
of  the  wretched  victim  with  a  sharp  razor  of  itzfli — a  volcanic 
substance,  hard  as  flint, — and,  inserting  his  hand  into  the 
wound,  tore  out  the  palpitating  heart.  The  minister  of 
death,  first  holding  this  up  toward  the  sun,  an  object  of  wor- 
ship throughout  Anahuac,  cast  it  at  the  feet  of  the  deity  to 
whom  the  temple  was  devoted,  while  the  multitudes  below 
prostrated  themselves  in  humble  adoration.  The  tragic  story 
of  this  prisoner  was  expounded  by  the  priests  as  the  type 


30  The  Historical  Child 

of  human  destiny,  whieh,  brilliant  in  its  commencement,  too 
often  closes  in  sorrow  and  disaster."^ 

Slavery.  Slavery  existed,  the  slaves  having  been  criminals, 
prisoners  of  war,  public  debtors,  persons  who  sold  them- 
selves into  slavery,  and  children.  Slavery  was  never  the 
birthright  of  any  child  born  in  ancient  Mexico.  Children 
born  to  a  slave  were  free.  Yet  children  could  be  sold  into 
slavery  and  were  often  sold  by  their  parents,  mostly  on  ac- 
count of  poverty.  There  was  one  peculiar  thing  in  slavery 
here.  With  the  consent  of  the  master  the  parents  could  sub- 
stitute a  younger  child  as  it  grew  up  for  an  older  one  sold 
into  slavery,  which  substitution  could  go  on  down  to  the 
youngest  child.  Slavery  must  have  been  rather  mild,  as  in 
the  presence  of  four  vs^itnesses  the  precise  services  were  pre- 
scribed when  a  child  was  sold,  and  a  slaA^e  could  have  a 
family  and  even  hold  other  slaves,  and,  as  was  stated,  all  his 
children  were  born  free,  the  worst  feature  having  been  that 
slaves  were  liable  to  be  sacrificed. 

Industries.  Agriculture  was  in  quite  an  advanced  stage 
in  ancient  ]\Iexico.  Unlike  in  other  parts  of  North  America, 
the  men  engaged  in  the  work,  performed  such  labor  as  pre- 
paring the  fields,  planting,  and  reaping,  w^hile  the  women 
helped  in  scattering  the  grain,  weeding,  and  winnowing. 
They  had  no  useful  domesticated  animals,  so  that  the  people 
carried  on  all  the  kinds  of  farm  work  and  the  implements 
were  simple,  as,  the  hoe,  spade,  and  basket.  They  fertilized 
the  soil,  let  it  recover  from  exhaustion  by  lying  fallow,  irri- 
gated by  means  of  canals,  surrounded  the  fields  by  adobe 
walls  and  aloe  hedges,  and  built  granaries  in  which  to  store 
the  harv^ests. 

They  mined  silver,  lead,  tin,  and  copper.  Gold  was  ob- 
tained in  the  form  of  nuggets  on  the  surface  of  the  ground 
or  from  the  sand  in  the  beds  of  rivers.  They  also  got  quick- 
silver, sulphur,  alum,  ocher,  and  other  minerals  which  were 
used  in  making  colors  and  for  other  purposes.  Although  there 
was  an  abundance  of  iron,  it  was  not  mined  or  used.  They 
made  tools  of  copper,  hardened  with  tin.  Most  of  the  instru- 
ments, however,  were  of  stone,  such  as  axes  and  hammers. 
From  obsidian,  a  kind  of  volcanic  glass,  by  means  of  pressure 
they  detached  long  flakes  having  a  razor-like  edge,  which  they 
used  for  making  knives,  razors,  lancets,  swords,  arrow-heads, 
and  spear-heads.     They  quarried  stone  from  the  hills  and 

•Prescott,  Conquest  of  Mexico,  I,  78-79. 


The  Child  in  Mexico  31 

mountains  and  often  transported  large  blocks  for  long  dis- 
tances and  erected  great  buildings. 

The  caste-system  did  not  exist  in  Mexico  but  it  was  a  cus- 
tom, usually  observed,  for  the  son  to  learn  the  trade  of  his 
father.  Trades  were  highly  esteemed  among  them,  being 
learned  even  by  the  nobles.  A  particular  part  of  the  city  was 
given  over  to  a  particular  trade,  which  had  its  own  distinctive 
mark,  something  like  a  guild,  having  its  own  god,  festivals, 
and  the  like.  The  high  standing  of  the  trades  is  shown  by  this 
advice  given  by  an  aged  chief  to  his  son:  "Apply  thyself,  my" 
son,  to  agriculture,  or  to  feather-work,  or  some  other  honor- 
able calling.  Thus  did  your  ancestors  before  you.  Else  how 
would  they  have  provided  for  themselves  and  their  families? 
Never  was  it  heard  that  nobility  alone  was  able  to  maintain 
its  possessor."^" 

Among  the  manufactures  were  cloths  made  of  cotton, 
maguey  fiber,  rabbit  hair,  fiber  of  palm-leaves,  and  also  the 
cotton  was  mixed  with  the  rabbit  hair  and  with  feathers  in 
making  a  very  fine  kind  of  cloth.  The  cloths  were  dyed  in 
different  colors  as  they  obtained  a  number  of  dyes  from  both 
vegetable  and  mineral  substances,  probably  even  excelling  the 
Europeans  in  the  art  of  dyeing.  They  tanned  the  skins  of 
animals  both  with  and  without  the  hair.  The  making  of  mats 
and  baskets  was  an  important  industry.  Paper  was  made 
from  maguey  fiber,  sometimes  this  was  mixed  with  fiber  from 
some  other  plants.  Wood  was  used  in  making  household  fur- 
niture and  farming  implements  and  they  also  made  cups  and 
vases  of  lacquered  wood.  In  the  working  of  gold  and  silver 
they  had  reached  a  high  degree  of  perfection,  making  most 
beautiful  ornaments,  which,  in  many  instances,  were  superior 
to  the  work  done  in  Europe.  They  were  quite  skillful  in  the 
use  of  feathers.  Feathers  were  mixed  with  cotton  and  with 
other  fiber  for  the  making  of  clothing,  tapestry,  carpets,  and 
bed-coverings.  Feathers  were  used  as  ornaments  and  decora- 
tions, sometimes  having  been  tipped  with  gold  and  set  in  pre- 
cious stones,  most  beautiful  fans  were  made  in  this  way.  The 
work  with  feathers  they  most  excelled  in  was  what  has  been 
called  feather-mosaic,  in  which  beautiful  designs  were  worked 
out  and  colors  harmoniously  blended  by  the  skillfully  pasting 
of  feathers  on  to  cloth.  For  temporary  use,  as  for  decorations 
on  the  occasions  of  special  festivals,  they  made  designs  with 
leaves  and  flowers  similar  to  the  feather-work.     They  were 

"  Prescott,  Conquest  of  Mexico,  I,  149. 


32  The  Historical  CJiiid 

quite  skillful  in  working  precious  stones,  making  most  beau- 
tiful ornaments  from  the  stones  found  in  the  country,  emer- 
alds, amethysts,  and  turquoises  being  the  most  abundant. 
Pearls  and  bright  colored  shells  were  used  with  the  stones 
in  the  formation  of  necklaces,  bracelets,  earrings,  and  other 
ornaments.  "Mirrors  of  rock  crystal,  obsidian,  and  other 
stones,  brightly  polished  and  encased  in  rich  frames,  were 
said  to  reflect  the  human  face  as  clearly  as  the  best  of  Euro- 
pean manufacture."^^ 

The  making  of  pottery  was  one  of  tbe  leading  industries, 
which  products  ran  from  coarse  undecorated  vessels  to  quite 
fine  ware  of  various  colors  and  highly  ornamented.  *'The 
quality  of  the  potting  varies  considerably  according  to  local- 
ity, but  the  finer  examples,  such  as  the  ware  from  Cholula  and 
the  Totonac  district  exhibit  a  very  high  standard  of  paste, 
form  and  technique,  though  the  potters  of  this  region  of 
America  cannot  boast  such  consummate  mastery  over  their 
material  as  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  Peruvian  coast.  "^^ 

The  agricultural  and  industrial  products  were  not  only 
used  where  produced  but  also  carried  to  the  different  pro- 
vinces and  even  to  other  countries  by  traders,  which  occupa- 
tion was  highly  respected  in  Mexico.  They  took  with  them 
the  products  of  their  own  country  and  brought  back  the 
products  of  other  countries.  These  traders  not  only  engaged 
in  trade  but  also  acted  as  spies  for  the  king  and  brought  to 
him  much  information  concerning  the  places  visited  by  them. 
The  products  of  the  country  and  those  brought  in  from  out- 
side by  the  traders  were  displayed  for  sale  in  the  great  mar- 
ket-places of  the  principal  cities.  **The  great  market  in 
Tlaltelolco  moved  the  wonder  of  the  conquerors ;  it  is  described 
as  being  three  times  as  large  as  that  of  Salamanca,  and  one  es- 
timate places  the  daily  attendance  at  twenty  or  twenty-five 
thousand  persons.  One  of  the  conquerors  gives  the  following 
picture  of  it.  *  On  one  side  are  the  people  who  sell  gold ;  near 
them  are  they  who  trade  in  jewels  mounted  in  gold  in  the 
forms  of  birds  and  animals.  On  another  side  beads  and  mir- 
ros  are  sold,  on  another,  feathers  and  plumes  of  all  colors 
for  working  designs  on  garments,  and  to  wear  in  war  or  at 
festivals.  Further  on  stone  is  worked  to  make  razors  and 
swords,  a  remarkable  thing  which  passes  our  understanding; 
of  it  they  manufacture  swords  and  roundels.    In  other  places 

"Bancroft,  Native  races  of  Pacific  states,  II,  482. 
"Joyce,  Mexican  archaeology,  184. 


The  Child  in  Mexico  33 

they  sell  cloth  and  men 's  dresses  of  different  designs ;  beyond, 
dresses  for  women,  and  in  another  part  footgear.  A  section 
is  reserved  for  the  sale  of  prepared  hides  of  deer  and  other 
animals;  elsewhere  are  baskets  made  of  hair,  such  as  all 
Indian  women  use.  Cotton,  grain  which  forms  their  food, 
bread  of  all  kinds,  pastry,  fowls,  and  eggs  are  sold  in  differ- 
ent sections;  and  hard  by  they  sell  hares,  rabbits,  deer, 
quails,  geese  and  ducks.  Elsewhere  wines  of  all  sorts  are  for 
sale,  vegetables,  pepper,  roots,  medicinal  plants,  which  are 
very  numerous  in  this  country,  fruits  of  all  kinds,  wood  for 
building,  lime  and  stone.  In  fact,  each  object  has  its  appoint- 
ed place.  Beside  this  great  market-place  there  are  in  other 
quarters  other  markets  also  where  provisions  may  be 
bought. '  Special  magistrates  held  courts  in  the  market-places 
to  settle  disputes  on  the  spot,  and  there  were  market  officials 
similar  to  our  inspectors  of  weights  and  measures.  Falsifica- 
tion of  the  latter  was  visited  with  severe  punishment."  ^^ 

Couriers.  The  means  of  communication  between  different 
parts  of  the  country  was  by  couriers,  who  were  trained  for 
this  purpose  from  childhood.  One  courier  would  carry  his 
messages  from  one  post-house  to  another,  where  another 
courier  would  take  them  and  carry  them  to  the  next  post- 
house,  and  so  on.  These  couriers  were  so  well  trained  from 
childhood  that  they  traveled  with  remarkable  speed,  so  that 
as  much  as  two  hundred  miles  a  day  would  be  covered  by  the 
chain  of  carriers. 

Amusements.  Feasts  were  of  common  occurrence  and 
were  given  by  people  of  all  ranks  of  society.  Each  man  vied 
with  the  other  in  giving  banquets  and  it  often  happened  that 
the  host  ruined  himself  financially  by  his  hospitality,  as  it 
was  the  custom  to  distribute  costly  presents  among  the  guests, 
and  some  went  so  far  as  to  have  sold  themselves  into  slavery 
to  raise  funds  to  give  at  least  one  big  feast  that  would  make 
a  name  for  them  and  thus  be  kept  in  the  memory  of  their 
fellow-men.  One  form  of  entertainment  at  these  feasts  was 
the  use  of  jesters,  similar  to  the  court-foob  of  European 
medieval  times,  who  made  jokes  at  the  expense  of  the  guests, 
imitated  people  of  different  nations  in  dress  and  manners, 
mimicked  old  women  and  well-known  eccentric  individuals, 
and  the  like. 

"At  the  royal  feasts  given  when  the  great  vassals  came  to 
the  capital  to  render  homage  to  their  sovereign,  the  people 

"Joyce,  Mexican  archaeology,  129. 


34  The  Historical  Child 

flocked  in  from  the  provinces  in  great  numbers  to  see  tlie 
sights,  which  consisted  of  theatrical  representations,  gladia- 
torial combats,  fights  between  wild  beasts,  athletic  sports, 
musical  performances,  and  poetical  recitations  in  honor  of 
kings,  gods,  and  heroes.  The  nobles,  in  addition  to  this,  par- 
took daily  of  banquets  at  the  palace,  and  were  presented  by 
the  monarch  with  costly  gifts. ' '  ^^ 

There  were  people  who  gave  gymnastic  performances  and 
who  performed  acrobatic  feats  such  as  of  the  present  day  and 
with  equal  or  even  greater  skill.  There  were  running  races, 
swimming  matches,  wrestling  matches,  contests  in  shooting 
with  bow  and  arrow  and  in  throwing  the  dart,  and  soldiers 
fought  with  wild  beasts  in  enclosed  places.  Gambling  greatly 
prevailed,  property  of  all  kinds  was  put  up  as  stakes  and  even 
a  man  might  jeopardize  his  own  personal  liberty  on  a  game 
of  chance.     Dice  was  the  most  general  gambling  game. 

Dancing  was  one  of  the  leading  amusements  of  the  ancient 
Mexicans.  It  formed  an  important  part  in  their  religious 
ceremonies  and  much  time  was  given  by  the  priests  in  in- 
structing the  youth  in  this  art.  Drums  and  other  musical 
instruments  were  used  in  the  dancing  and  they  were  accom- 
panied by  chants  and  other  music  of  the  dancers.  In  some  of 
the  dances  each  sex  danced  apart,  while  in  others  they  danced 
together.  Sometimes  they  danced  in  threes,  two  men  and 
a  woman,  or  two  women  and  a  man,  while  again  they  danced 
in  pairs,  with  their  arms  round  one  another's  waist  or  neck. 
There  was  one  dance  which  somewhat  resembled  the  old 
English  j\Iay-pole  dance,  in  which  ribbons  were  wound  and 
unwound  about  a  pole.  In  some  of  their  great  public  dances 
thousands  participated.  These  occurred  in  an  open  place,  the 
musicians  being  placed  in  the  center,  about  them  was  formed 
a  circle  of  the  nobles  and  elderly  people,  next  came  a  circle 
of  middle-aged  persons,  and  then  the  young  people  formed 
a  great  circle  around  them  all.  Each  person  was  to  keep  his 
own  place  on  the  circle  while  all  circled  about  the  musicians. 
The  inner  circle  moved  Avith  slow  and  sedate  steps,  the  middle 
circle  moved  more  rapidly,  and  the  outer  circle  of  young 
people  twirled  rapidly  about  with  many  fantastic  figures. 
With  drums  beating  and  other  musical  instruments  going 
and  all  the  dancers  chanting,  with  arms,  feet,  heads,  and 
bodies  all  moving  in  perfect  accord,  leaders  directing,  this 
dancing  must  have  made  a  great  spectacle  to  the  onlookers. 

"Bancroft,  Native  races  of  Pacific  states,  II,  286. 


The  Child  in  Mexico  35 

There  were  not  a  great  variety  of  musical  instruments. 
They  had  drums,  rattles,  gongs,  trumpets,  and  whistles.  There 
were  bands  of  musicians  and  choirs,  each  temple  having  had 
a  choir  composed  of  singers  of  diiferent  ages,  among  whom 
were  boys  of  four  to  eight  years  of  age.  There  were  contests 
in  music  and  prizes  were  given  to  the  successful  competi- 
tors. There  were  a  large  number  of  popular  songs  or  ballads, 
which  were  well  known  to  all  classes  of  the  people.  The 
drama  existed  among  them.  The  plays  were  given  on  a  ter- 
race in  the  market-place  or  on  a  porch  of  a  temple.  The 
players  usually  wore  wooden  masks  or  were  disguised  as  ani- 
mals. The  play  generally  was  given  in  the  form  of  a  bur- 
lesque and  ended  with  the  animal  players  giving  exhibits  of 
the  actions  of  the  animals  they  represented. 

"The  national  game  of  the  Nahuas  was  the  tlachtli,  which 
strongly  resembled  in  many  points  our  game  of  football,  and 
was  quite  as  lively  and  full  of  scuffle.  It  was  common  among 
all  the  nations  whose  cult  was  similar  to  the  Toltec,  and  was 
under  special  divine  protection,  though  what  original  reli- 
gious significance  it  had  is  not  clear.  Indeed,  for  that  mat- 
ter, nearly  every  game  enjoyed  divine  patronage,  and  Ome- 
tochtli,  'two  rabbits,'  the  god  of  games,  according  to  Duran, 
was  generally  invoked  by  athletes  as  well  as  by  gamblers,  in 
conjunction  with  some  special  god.  Instruments  of  play, 
and  natural  objects  were  also  conjured  to  grant  good  luck  to 
the  applicant.  As  an  instance  of  the  popularity  of  the  game 
of  tlachtli,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a  certain  number  of 
towns  contributed  annually  sixteen  thousand  balls  in  taxes, 
that  eaeh  town  of  any  size  had  a  special  playground  devoted 
to  the  game,  and  that  kings  kept  professionals  to  play  before 
them,  occasionally  challenging  each  other  to  a  game  besides. 
The  ground  in  which  it  was  played,  called  the  tlachco,  was 
an  alley,  one  hundred  feet  long  and  half  as  wide,  except  at 
each  end  where  there  were  rectangular  nooks,  which  doubtless 
served  as  resting  places  for  the  players.  The  whole  was  en- 
closed by  smooth  whitewashed  walls,  from  nine  to  twelve  feet 
high  on  the  sides,  and  somewhat  lower  at  the  ends,  with  battle- 
ments and  turrets,  and  decreasing  in  thickness  toward  the  top. 
At  midnight,  previous  to  the  day  fixed  for  the  game,  which  was 
always  fixed  favorably  by  the  augurs,  the  priests  with  much 
ceremony  placed  two  idols — one  representing  the  god  of  play, 
the  other  the  god  of  the  tlachtli — upon  the  side  walls,  blessed 
the  edifice,  and  consecrated  the  game  by  throwing  the  ball 


36  The  historical  Child 

four  times  round  the  ground,  muttering  the  while  a  formula. 
The  owner  of  the  tlachco,  usually  the  lord  of  the  place,  also 
performed  certain  ceremonies  and  presented  offerings,  before 
opening  the  game.  The  balls,  called  ullamaloni,  were  of  solid 
India-rubber,  three  to  four  inches  in  diameter.  The  players 
were  simply  attired  in  the  maxtli,  or  breech-clout,  and  some- 
times wore  a  skin  to  protect  the  parts  coming  in  contact  with 
the  ball,  and  gloves;  they  played  in  parties,  usually  two  or 
three  on  each  side.  The  rule  was  to  hit  the  ball  only  with 
knee,  elbow,  shoulder,  or  buttock,  as  agreed  upon,  the  latter 
was  however  the  favorite  way,  and  to  touch  the  wall  of  the 
opposite  side  with  the  ball,  or  to  send  it  over,  either  of  which 
counted  a  point.  He  who  struck  the  ball  with  his  hand  or 
foot,  or  with  any  part  of  his  body  not  previously  agreed 
upon,  lost  a  point;  to  settle  such  matters  without  dispute  a 
priest  acted  as  referee.  On  each  side-wall,  equidistant  from 
the  ends,  was  a  large  stone,  carved  with  images  of  idols, 
pierced  through  the  center  with  a  hole  large  enough  to  just 
admit  the  passage  of  the  ball;  the  player  who  by  chance  or 
skill  drove  the  ball  through  one  of  these  openings  not  only 
won  the  game  for  his  side,  but  was  entitled  to  the  cloaks  of 
all  present,  and  the  haste  with  which  the  spectators  scrambled 
off  in  order  to  save  their  garments  is  said  to  have  been  the 
most  amusing  part  of  the  entertainment.  A  feat  so  difficult 
was,  of  course,  rarely  accomplished,  save  by  chance,  and  the 
successful  player  was  made  as  much  of  as  a  prize-winner  at 
the  Olympic  games,  nor  did  he  omit  to  present  thank-offerings 
to  the  god  of  the  game  for  the  good  fortune  vouchsafed 
him."^^ 

Education.  Annexed  to  the  temples  were  buildings  de- 
voted to  the  purpose  of  education  for  boys,  youths,  and  young 
women.  The  education  of  the  males  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
priests  and  of  the  females  in  the  care  of  the  priestesses.  Thus 
the  priesthood  were  enabled  to  mould  the  young  in  their  own 
way.  They  brought  the  young  so  well  under  their  sway  that 
they  were  never  able  in  after  life  to  free  themselves  from 
such  nor  did  they  seem  so  to  desire  to  do. 

The  sexes  were  not  educated  together  nor  was  any  inter- 
course allowed  between  them,  and  if  such  occurred  the  trans- 
gression was  severely  punished.  The  morals  of  both  sexes 
were  very  closely  looked  after.     Offences  were  severely  pun- 

"  Bancroft,  Native  racea  of  Pacific  states,  II,  297-299. 


The  ChMd  in  Mexico  37 

ished,  sometimes  by  death.  Love  did  not  lead  the  Aztec 
youth  in  education,  but  terror. 

The  children  of  the  common  people  and  those  of  the  higher 
classes  did  not  attend  in  the  same  buildings.  Both  classes 
were  taught  such  things  in  religion,  music,  painting,  and  the 
like,  as  belonged  to  their  stations  in  life.  The  boys  of  the 
common  people  did  the  heavier  and  more  menial  work  about 
the  temples,  such  as  the  attending  to  the  getting  of  fuel  for 
the  sacred  fires  and  preparing  the  material  for  the  repair 
of  the  sacred  edifices.  The  young  nobles  attended  to  the 
higher  duties,  such  as  caring  for  the  fires  of  the  sanctuaries, 
keeping  the  upper  parts  of  the  temples  clean,  and  decorating 
the  shrines  of  the  gods  with  flowers.  The  children  of  the 
common  classes  were  obliged  to  sleep  in  the  school  buildings 
but  they  took  their  meals  at  home  while  the  young  nobil- 
ity remained  in  the  buildings  for  meals  as  well  as  for  sleep- 
ing. 

For  the  most  part  the  girls  who  attended  the  schools  be- 
longed to  the  nobility.  They  attended  to  the  lower  part  of 
the  temples,  prepared  the  offerings  of  meats  to  the  idols,  and 
wove  and  embroidered  the  fine  cloths  for  the  altars.  They 
were  strictly  guarded  so  that  no  intercourse  could  take  place 
between  them  and  the  youths.  When  they  went  out  they 
were  accompanied  by  their  teachers  and  they  were  not  per- 
mitted to  pay  any  attention  to  any  one,  and  if  they  did  so  they 
were  severely  punished.  They  were  instructed  in  religion, 
household  arts,  spinning,  the  weaving  of  mantles,  the  making 
of  feather-work,  and  the  like. 

In  the  higher  schools,  the  noble  boys  were  taught  much  that 
was  given  to  the  other  boys  and  also  in  many  of  the  arts 
and  sciences,  such  as  the  study  of  heroic  songs  and  sacred 
hymns,  history,  religion,  philosophy,  law,  astronomy,  astrol- 
ogy, and  the  writing  and  interpreting  of  hieroglyphics.  Those 
destined  to  be  priests  were  further  educated  in  the  priestly 
duties,  while  those  who  were  to  enter  upon  a  military  life 
were  exercised  in  gymnastics,  and  trained  to  the  use  of  weap- 
ons, to  shoot  with  the  bow,  to  manage  the  shield,  and  to  cast 
darts  at  a  mark. 

When  the  young  reached  the  age  when  marriage  was  per- 
missible or  when  business  cares  should  be  entered  upon,  they 
were  sent  from  the  schools  with  the  commendations  of  the 
officers  and  teachers,  which  were  of  great  aid  to  many  in 
securing  positions  in.  life. 


38  The  Historical  Child 


LITERATURE 

1.  Bancroft,  Hubert  Howe,  The  native  races  of  the  Pa- 
cific states  of  North  America. 

2.  Barnes,    Earl    and    Mary    S.,    Education    among    the 
Aztecs.    Studies  in  Education,  I,  73-80. 

3.  Joyce,  Thomas  A.,  Mexican  archaeology. 

4.  Mason,  Otis  Tufton,  "Woman's  share  in  primitive  cul- 
ture. 

5.  Nadaillac,  Marquis  de.  Prehistoric  America, 

6.  Prescott,  William  H.,  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexr 
ico. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  CHILD  IN  PEEU 

The  People.  The  origin  of  the  people  found  in  Peru  at  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  conquest  is  unknown.  The  people  them- 
selves held  to  a  tradition  that  the  empire  began  with  a  settle- 
ment in  the  Cuzco  valley,  the  central  region  of  Peru.  By 
the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  first  part  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  through  military  expeditions  this  Inca 
power  had  been  extended  to  include  the  country  from  the 
river  Ancasmayu,  just  north  of  the  city  of  Quito,  Ecuador, 
to  the  river  Maule,  just  south  of  the  city  of  Santiago,  Chile, 
or  from  about  the  second  degree  of  north  latitude  to  the 
thirty-seventh  degree  of  south  latitude,  territory  embraced 
at  the  present  time  by  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia,  part  of  Chile, 
and  north-west  Argentina.  Before  these  Inca  people  there 
seemed  to  have  existed  a  race  of  well  advanced  people  who 
left  imposing  architectural  remains  that  the  Inca  people  were 
unable  to  account  for.  To  hold  together  the  parts  of  the 
empire,  great  roads  were  built  leading  from  Cuzco,  the  capi- 
tal, to  the  extremities  of  the  country.  One  of  these  great 
roads  ran  over  the  grand  plateau  north  to  Quito  and  south  to 
Chile,  and  a  second  one  ran  each  way,  north  and  south,  along 
the  lowlands  on  the  border  of  the  ocean,  and  these  two  were 
connected  by  cross-roads.  ''The  road  over  the  plateau  was 
conducted  over  pathless  sierras  buried  in  snow ;  galleries  were 
cut  for  leagues  through  the  living  rock;  rivers  were  crossed 
by  means  of  bridges  that  swung  suspended  in  the  air ;  preci- 
pices were  scaled  by  stairways  hewn  out  of  the  native  bed; 
ravines  of  hideous  depths  were  filled  up  with  solid  masonry; 
in  short,  all  the  difficulties  that  beset  a  wild  and  mountainous 
region,  and  which  might  appal  the  most  courageous  engineer 
in  modern  times,  were  encountered  and  successfully  over- 
come. The  length  of  the  road,  of  which  scattered  fragments 
only  remain,  is  variously  estimated  at  from  fifteen  hundred 
to  two  thousands  miles;  and  stone  pillars,  in  the  manner  of 
European  mile-stones,  were   erected   at  stated  intervals   of 

39 


40  The  Historical  Child 

somewhat  more  than  a  league,  all  along  the  route.  Its 
breadth  scarcely  exceeded  twenty  feet.  It  was  built  of 
heavy  flags  of  freestone,  and,  in  some  parts  at  least,  covered 
with  a  bituminous  cement,  which  time  has  made  harder  than 
the  stone  itself. ' '  ^  Along  these  roads  were  a  series  of  post- 
houses  for  couriers,  selected  for  their  swiftness  of  foot,  who 
carried  messages  back  and  forth  between  the  capital  and  the 
different  parts  of  the  empire.  The  statement  is  made  that 
these  couriers  covered  the  distance  from  Quito  to  Cuzco,  over 
a  thousand  miles,  in  eight  days.  Along  the  routes  were  also 
placed  storehouses  with  provisions  for  troops  or  for  those  who 
travelled  on  state  affairs,  who  really  were  the  only  travellers. 

At  the  time  of  the  Spanish  invasion,  Peru  was  a  huge  bu- 
reaucracy, which  had  evolved  from  a  primitive  communism 
as  the  territory  was  extended  by  conquest.  The  empire  was 
divided  into  provinces  and  placed  under  rulers,  below  whom 
was  a  hierarchy  of  officials,  running  down  to  an  inspector  of 
ten  heads  of  families.  A  careful  census  was  kept  of  the 
people  and  resources  of  each  province,  which  censuses  were 
sent  regularly  to  Cuzco,  From  these  returns  was  estimated 
the  tribute  each  person  was  to  give  to  the  state,  which  was 
not  paid  in  money  but  in  labor  or  products.  No  one  but  the 
sick  was  permitted  to  remain  idle  and  there  was  constant  su- 
pervision over  all.  No  man  was  exempt  except  by  special 
regulation  from  agricultural  work  and  military  service. 
"From  the  cradle  to  the  grave  the  life  of  the  individual 
was  marked  out  for  him ;  as  he  was  born  so  would  he  die,  and 
he  lived  his  allotted  span  under  the  ceaseless  supervision  of 
officials.  His  dress  was  fixed  according  to  his  district;  he 
might  not  leave  his  village  except  at  the  bidding  of  the  state, 
and  then  only  for  state  purposes,  he  might  not  even  seek  a 
wife  outside  his  own  community. ' '  ^  Yet  every  one  was  cared 
for,  widows,  orphans,  aged,  and  sick,  in  fact  no  one  was  al- 
lowed to  suffer.  The  state  stored  in  buildings  provisions  for 
times  of  scarcity  of  crops,  so  as  to  prevent  famine.  At  the 
head  of  the  empire  was  the  sovereign  and  who  bore  the  title 
of  Sapa  Inca,  Only  Inca,  the  divine  ruler ;  next  to  the  sover- 
eign came  the  nobility  of  royal  blood,  the  Inca  nobility,  and 
who  held  the  principal  offices  of  the  state ;  then  came  a  lower 
nobility,  the  Curagas,  who  were  of  the  original  rulers  of  con- 
quered states;  and  last  were  the  common  people. 

^  Prescott,  Conquest  of  Peru,  I,  65. 

^  Joyce,  South  American  archaeology,  104. 


The  Child  in  Peru  41 

Buildings.  The  buildings  of  the  highlands  were  of  stone, 
while  on  the  coast  stone  was  used  for  foundations  and  brick 
made  of  clay  mixed  with  reeds  or  tough  grass  was  used  for 
the  walls.  With  stone  mortar  was  sometimes  used  and  some- 
times not.  In  the  great  buildings  where  large  stones  were 
placed  in  the  walls  no  mortar  was  used,  and  it  is  stated  that 
in  some  of  the  remains  of  such  buildings  the  stones  are  fitted 
so  closely  that  not  even  a  knife-blade  can  be  inserted  in  the 
joints.  The  exterior  walls  were  often  of  great  thickness  and 
the  interior  of  the  building  was  arranged  around  a  court, 
with  windows  and  doors  from  the  rooms  opening  on  to  the 
court.  Some  of  the  buildings  were  of  immense  sizes,  in  par- 
ticular those  built  as  fortifications  and  for  religious  purposes. 
The  doors  were  narrowed  at  the  top,  and  with  a  stone  across 
the  top,  the  arch  with  the  keystone  not  showing  in  Peruvian 
architecture.  The  roofs  were  thatched  and  in  the  large  build- 
ings the  ceilings  sometimes  were  vaulted  by  having  the  upper 
courses  of  masonry  overlap  and  the  whole  topped  by  a  single 
slab,  thus  forming  a  kind  of  arch.  On  this  lower  part  a 
second  story  was  built,  which  did  not  open  on  to  the  first 
floor,  but  was  approached  from  the  hill  against  which  the 
building  was  built.  Inside  the  building  the  walls  were  niched 
for  the  purpose  of  decoration  and  also  gold  plates  and  jewels 
were  placed  on  the  walls  as  ornaments. 

Dress.  The  two  principal  garments  of  the  ancient  Peruvi- 
ans were  the  tunic  and  the  robe.  In  the  simplest  form  the 
tunic  consisted  of  an  oblong  piece  of  cloth,  folded  crosswise 
in  the  middle  and  a  piece  cut  out  of  the  fold  for  the  head  to 
go  through,  and  the  edges  on  each  side  sewed  together  except 
a  place  left  for  the  arms.  Sometimes  the  tunic  was  made  with 
short  sleeves.  Often  a  belt  was  worn  about  the  tunic  at  the 
waist.  In  the  coast  country  the  material  used  for  clothing 
was  cotton  while  wool  was  used  in  the  highlands  in  the  in- 
terior. The  quality  of  the  clothing  differed  with  the  rank 
of  the  wearer,  the  coarsest  clothes  were  used  by  the  common 
people  while  the  finest  were  reserved  for  the  nobility  and  the 
very  finest  for  the  sovereign.  The  cloths  were  colored  and 
designs  woven  in  them  and  sometimes  they  were  fringed  and 
embroidered  and  sometimes  even  they  were  further  decorated 
with  feathers  and  small  plates  of  silver  and  gold. 

On  the  head  were  worn  conical  or  flat-topped  caps,  some 
having  flaps  to  cover  the  ears  and  the  back  part  of  the  head, 
while  others  enclosed  the  entire  head,  coming  down  under  the 


42  The  Historical  Child 

chin,  leaving  only  the  face  exposed  to  view.  "Women  wore 
their  hair  long  while  with  men  the  length  of  the  hair  pro- 
claimed the  rank,  as  the  higher  the  rank  the  shorter  the  hair 
was  worn,  the  sovereign  alone  having  a  closely  cropped  head. 
The  ruling  class  wore  a  fringed  cord  of  vicuiia  wool  wound 
round  the  head  three  or  four  times,  the  color  designating 
the  rank  of  the  wearer,  that  of  the  sovereign  being  crimson, 
of  the  heir  to  the  throne  yellow,  and  the  higher  officials  wore 
other  colors.  Hair  was  not  allowed  to  grow  on  the  face  and 
it  was  kept  pulled  out  by  means  of  small  silver  and  copper 
tweezers.  They  wore  sandals  made  of  the  hide  of  the  llama 
or  of  vegetable  fiber  and  they  were  fastened  to  the  feet  with 
cords. 

Another  mark  of  rank,  along  with  their  colored  fringed 
cord,  was  the  wearing  of  studs  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear,  the 
largest  size  having  been  permitted  to  the  sovereign  only,  and 
the  sizes  diminished  according  to  rank.  These  ear-ornaments 
were  so  heavy  as  to  pull  the  lobes  of  the  ears  down,  making 
them  quite  large,  the  sovereign's  ears  being  distended  nearly 
to  his  shoulders.  Sometimes  the  nose  and  the  lower  lip  were 
pierced  and  ornaments  worn  in  them.  They  wore  necklaces 
made  of  beads  of  colored  shell  and  turquoise,  finger-rings, 
anklets,  and  bracelets  of  silver  and  gold,  and  pins  for  fasten- 
ing the  cloaks.  Tattooing  was  practiced,  designs  having  been 
worked  into  the  skin  with  a  blue  pigment. 

Food,  Drink,  Narcotics.  Because  of  the  country's  lying 
for  the  most  part  in  the  tropics  and  also  being  of  a  mountain- 
ous nature,  thus  allowing  different  climatic  conditions,  there 
was  a  plant  life  as  found  in  both  tropical  and  temperate  zones 
such  as  to  offer  a  variety  of  food.  In  the  uplands  maize  was 
one  of  the  staple  foods,  which  was  usually  eaten  whole,  roasted 
or  boiled,  maybe  not  used  by  them  as  bread  except  at  festivals, 
and  the  leaves  were  eaten  as  a  vegetable.  Quinoa  was  another 
grain  used  by  them,  a  kind  of  buckwheat.  Another  staple  was 
the  potato,  most  commonly  used  in  the  form  of  chuno,  in 
which  the  potatoes  were  exposed  to  the  frost  for  some  time, 
then  pounded  and  dried  in  the  sun,  which  made  quite  nour- 
ishing food  and  could  be  stowed  away  and  kept  for  some  time. 
Beans  and  tomatoes  were  also  used  by  them.  On  the  low- 
lands along  the  coast  were  found  bananas,  cocoa-nuts,  the 
quava,  and  the  manioc.  Birds  were  abundant,  as  were  also 
fish,  both  from  the  lakes  and  the  ocean.  The  llama  and  the 
deer  and  the  wild  sheep  of  the  mountains  were  used  as  food, 


The  Child  in  Peru,  43 

as  was  the  flesh  of  some  other  animals.  This  flesh  was  often 
cut  into  strips  and  dried,  which  was  called  charqui,  probably 
from  which  came  the  term  ''jerked"  beef. 

Syrup  and  a  kind  of  vinegar  were  made  from  the  juice 
of  the  maguey  and  also  syrup  was  made  from  the  juice 
extracted  from  the  stalk  of  the  maize.  They  made  from  the 
grain  of  the  maize  chica,  which  was  the  national  drink  of 
Peru,  and  chica  also  was  made  from  the  grain  of  the  quinoa. 
But  more  desired  than  food  or  drink  was  the  narcotic  effect 
of  the  coca,  whose  leaves  were  gathered  and  dried,  mixed 
with  lime  or  bone-ash,  and  thus  made  into  a  preparation  for 
chewing.  Tobacco  was  used  by  the  Peruvians  but  they  "dif- 
fered from  every  other  Indian  nation  to  whom  it  was  known, 
by  using  it  only  for  medicinal  purposes,  in  the  form  of 
snuff,  "f 

Marriage.  By  law  in  ancient  Peru,  every  person,  both  male 
and  female,  was  to  marry  at  a  marriageable  age,  which  should 
be  not  less  than  twenty-four  in  males  and  eighteen  or  twenty 
in  females,  it  being  recognized  that  not  until  that  age  were 
people  prepared  to  care  for  a  family.  The  nobility  were  al- 
lowed more  than  one  wife  but  the  common  people  were  lim- 
ited to  one. 

According  to  law,  each  person  was  to  marry  within  his 
own  kindred.  This  was  not  a  very  great  restriction  since  all 
of  his  community,  including  the  town  and  often  the  whole 
province,  were  counted  his  kin. 

The  queen  of  the  ruler  was  selected  from  among  his  sis- 
ters. No  other  person  in  the  realm  was  allowed  to  marry 
his  own  sister.  This  was  commanded  of  the  ruler  so  that 
only  the  purest  blood — the  blood  of  the  heaven-born  children 
of  the  sun — would  thus  flow  in  their  offspring,  thereby  pre- 
venting anything  earthly  from  being  a  part  of  their  great 
rulers. 

No  marriage  was  considered  legal  unless  the  consent  of  the 
parents  had  been  given;  nor  was  any  contract  performed 
without  the  contracting  parties  so  desiring  it. 

The  ceremony  was  very  simple  and  yet  quite  peculiar.  On 
a  certain  day  of  each  year,  designated  by  law,  all  persons  of 
marriageable  age  came  together  in  the  open  squares  of  their 
native  places.  The  ruler  of  the  district  would  take  the  hands 
of  the  different  couples  in  his  and  place  them  in  each  other's 
and  pronounce  them  man  and  wife.    Among  the  kindred  of 

'Prescott,  Conquest  of  Peru,  I,  142, 


44  The  Historical  Child 

the  Inca  this  ceremony  was  performed  by  the  Inca  in  person. 

After  all  the  marriage  vows  were  performed,  there  was  a 
general  good  time  had  by  the  newly  married  pair  and  their 
friends,  which  was  carried  on  for  several  days.  It  can  be 
seen  that  these  festivities  must  have  been  very  general  over 
the  whole  empire,  as  all  weddings  occurred  on  the  same  day, 
and  as  in  every  circle  there  must  have  been  one  wedding, 
so  there  must  have  been  among  the  participants  in  the  after- 
feasts  nearly  all,  if  not  all,  the  people  of  the  country. 

The  newly  married  pair  were  not  left  to  find  a  home  for 
themselves.  Each  district  furnished  a  house  for  each  married 
couple  within  its  boundaries  and  gave  a  certain  portion  of 
land  to  them,  and  as  children  came  additional  allotments 
were  made  for  the  support  of  each  child.  For  a  son  twice 
as  much  land  was  assigned  to  the  parents  as  for  a  daughter. 
This  allotment  of  land  occurred  each  year  and  amounts  were 
given  in  accordance  with  the  size  of  the  family. 

Care  and  Treatment  of  Children.  Infants  were  placed  in 
cradles,  somewhat  like  Indian  cradles,  and  fastened  in  them 
and  kept  in  this  manner,  not  even  having  been  taken  out  and 
into  the  mother's  arms  when  fed.  When  they  were  weaned  an 
important  ceremony  occurred.  In  the  first  place  the  hair  was 
cut.  The  first  lock  of  hair  was  cut  from  the  head  by  an  elder 
relative  with  a  stone  knife  and  the  rest  of  the  hair  was  cut 
by  the  relatives  in  the  order  of  closeness  of  kin.  The  child 
was  then  given  a  name,  presents  were  given  to  it,  and  a  feast 
closed  the  proceedings.  When  the  heir  to  the  throne  under- 
went this  ceremony,  the  High-priest  of  the  Sun  cut  the  first 
lock  of  hair,  and  the  child  received  many  fine  presents,  among 
them  being  presents  from  the  rulers  of  the  various  provinces 
of  the  empire.  A  very  careful  record  of  births  and  deaths 
was  kept. 

The  Virgins  of  the  Sun.  The  Peruvians  worshipped  the 
sun  and  they  trained  for  this  worship  young  women  who 
were  called  Virgins  of  the  Sun.  They  were  taken  from  their 
homes  at  an  early  age  and  placed  in  convents  solely  conse- 
crated to  their  instruction  and  training.  One  of  these  in- 
stitutions, located  at  Cuzco,  was  for  the  girls  of  royal  blood. 
In  the  other  provinces  they  were  for  the  girls  of  the  higher 
and  inferior  nobles,  and  occasionally  a  girl  of  remarkable 
beauty  from  among  the  common  people  was  placed  among 
the  inmates. 

These  girls  were  put  in  charge  of  old,  reliable  women,  who 


The  Child  in  Peru  45 

had  spent  many  years  in  the  convents.  They  taught  the  girls 
how  to  spin  and  to  weave  the  hangings  for  the  temples.  They 
prepared  the  apparel  for  the  ruler  and  his  people.  They 
were  instructed  in  their  religious  duties,  one  of  these  being 
the  watching  over  the  sacred  fires. 

When  the  girls  entered  the  convents  they  were  shut  en- 
tirely away  from  the  world,  not  even  being  permitted  to  see 
or  to  hear  from  their  friends  and  relatives.  Morality  was 
carefully  inculcated.  If  one  of  the  young  women  should  be 
caught  in  an  intrigue,  she  was  buried  alive,  her  lover  was 
strangled,  and  his  native  town  razed  to  the  ground. 

No  one  was  allowed  to  enter  these  convents  except  the 
king  and  his  lawful  queen.  The  institutions  were  inspected 
each  year  by  persons  sent  for  that  purpose,  who  made  a  re- 
port of  what  they  noted  on  their  visits. 

The  buildings  themselves  were  as  finely  furnished  as  were 
the  palaces  of  the  Incas  and  the  temples,  as  they  were  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Sun  and  so  were  in 
especial  charge  of  the  state. 

When  these  young  women  reached  a  marriageable  age,  the 
most  beautiful  among  them  were  chosen  to  become  brides  of 
the  ruler,  others  were  given  by  him  as  wives  to  the  higher 
nobles,  while  others  remained  in  the  service  of  religion,  vow- 
ing perpetual  virginity,  and  who  were  held  in  the  very 
highest  respect. 

Human  Sacrifice.  Human  sacrifice  was  of  rare  event  in 
Peru.  This  only  occurred  to  mark  some  great  public  affair. 
The  victims  usually  were  children  and  beautiful  maidens. 
They  were  selected  from  the  various  parts  of  the  empire  and 
they  travelled  in  regular  convoys,  the  children  too  young  to 
walk  being  carried  by  their  mothers.  As  they  journey  they 
received  the  adoration  of  all  the  people  on  the  way.  In 
offering  them  up  as  sacrifices,  the  priests  strangled  them  or 
broke  their  necks  with  a  stone  implement,  while  with  some 
the  throat  was  cut  and  blood  from  the  wound  sprinkled  on 
their  faces.  In  some  cases  the  hearts  of  the  victims  were 
plucked  out  and  offered  to  the  divinity.  These  sacrifices 
were  never  served  up  at  feasts,  as  in  Mexico,  but  all  were 
buried  in  special  cemeteries.  Human  sacrifice  never  came 
to  be  a  great  part  of  the  religion  of  Peru  under  the  Incas, 
as  was  the  case  in  Mexico,  and  where  it  did  occur  there  was 
never  any  cannibalism  with  it. 

Industries.     Agriculture  was  the  main  occupation  of  the 


46  The  Historical  Child 

ancient  Peruvians.  Every  one  was  required  to  put  in  some 
time  in  agricultural  pursuits  unless  excused  by  special  permit 
by  the  authorities.  The  land  was  divided  into  three  parts, 
one  portion  was  reserved  for  the  Sun,  to  be  used  to  produce 
revenue  to  care  for  the  temples  and  the  priests  and  others 
connected  with  the  religion,  a  second  part  was  reserved  for 
the  state,  and  the  third  part  was  given  over  to  the  people  for 
their  own  use  each  head  of  a  family  receiving  a  plot  and 
additional  plot£  foi'  each  unmarried  child.  There  were  no 
animals  for  use  m  the  fields,  so  the  people  had  all  the  work 
to  do.  The  men  used  a  digging-stick,  which  was  a  long  stake 
with  a  sharpened  point,  sometimes  having  the  point  covered 
with  copper,  and  with  a  cross  stick  about  a  foot  up  from  the 
pointed  end  for  a  foot-rest  for  digging  with  the  foot.  The 
men  would  turn  up  the  soil  with  their  digging-sticks  and  the 
women  would  follow  and  break  up  the  clods  with  a  rake  and 
pull  out  the  weeds.  The  men  unable  to  dig  and  the  boys  acted 
as  scare-crows  or  used  blow-guns  and  slings  to  keep  the  birds 
away.  Every  bit  of  ground  was  cultivated  and  to  add  to 
this  terraces  were  formed  on  the  hillsides  by  means  of  paral- 
lel walls  of  rough  stones,  one  above  the  other.  To  add  further 
to  the  area  of  tillable  land,  where  the  soil  was  rocky  and 
dry  they  would  make  excavations,  sometimes  as  much  as  an 
acre  in  extent  and  sunk  to  the  depth  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet, 
and  would  line  these  with  walls  of  adobe,  sun-dried  bricks. 
The  bottom  of  the  pits  probably  reached  down  to  where  there 
was  some  moisture  and  they  were  prepared  for  cultivation 
as  the  other  fields. 

As  is  well  known,  much  of  the  coast  region  of  the  coun- 
try which  was  occupied  by  the  empire  of  the  ancient  Peru- 
vians is  arid,  as  the  prevailing  winds  are  from  the  east  and 
the  moisture  is  taken  from  them  by  the  high  Andes  moun- 
tains, and  thus  the  rivers  are  few  and  with  but  little  water  in 
them,  often  dry  for  a  long  time,  and  there  is  but  little  rainfall, 
if  at  all.  In  order  to  overcome  this  lack  of  moisture  and  to 
add  to  the  fertile  area  of  the  country,  the  Peruvians  built 
reservoirs  and  aqueducts.  These  aqueducts  were  sometimes 
above  ground  and  sometimes  underground  and  some  were 
quite  long,  one  at  least  having  been  between  four  and  five  hun- 
dred miles  in  length  and  twelve  feet  deep  and  wide.  As  they 
did  not  use  the  arch  they  could  not  well  cross  depressions  or 
streams  and  had  to  make  long  detours,  and  sometimes  they 
tunneled  in  the  mountains  for  the  passages.    They  had  sluices 


The  Child  in  Peru  47 

by  means  of  which  the  water  could  be  turned  on  to  the  land 
and  they  were  very  careful  in  allowing  the  right  amount  of 
water  to  be  used  on  the  fields.  The  construction  of  these 
aqueducts,  and  other  great  buildings,  is  all  the  more  re- 
markable when  it  is  considered  that  these  people  had  no  iron 
tools  of  any  kind  whatever. 

They  were  acquainted  with  the  principle  of  fertilizing  the 
crop.  A  small  sardine-like  fish  was  abundant  along  the  coast, 
which  they  caught  and  often  placed  with  the  grains  of  maize 
in  the  holes  in  planting.  Guano,  the  deposit  of  sea-fowls  on 
the  islands  along  the  coast,  was  used  in  great  quantity  by 
them,  and  much  care  was  given  to  its  proper  distribution  to 
the  different  districts.  No  one  was  allowed  on  the  islands 
during  the  breeding  season  and  such  trespass  and  killing  the 
birds  at  any  time  were  punished  by  death.  "Inland  other 
forms  of  manure  were  used. ' '  * 

As  most  of  the  country  of  the  Peruvian  empire  lay  in  the 
torrid  zone  and  consisted  of  low  coast  land,  elevated  land, 
and  mountainous  regions,  it  would  have  all  ranges  of  climate, 
according  to  elevation,  and  without  any  great  changes  of 
temperature  in  any  one  part.  Thus  all  kinds  of  agricultural 
products  could  be  cultivated,  such  as  would  be  found  in  tropi- 
cal and  temperate  regions.  In  the  warm  coast  region  cotton 
was  grown  in  great  abundance  and  the  banana  and  the  cas- 
sava ;  in  the  more  elevated  regions  the  great  staple  produced 
was  maize  and  also  manioc,  guava,  groundnuts,  tobacco,  beans, 
gourds,  and  tomatoes ;  and  in  the  higher  and  colder  parts  were 
found  the  potato,  quinoa,  coca,  and  maguey. 

Fishing  w^as  an  important  industry  and  on  the  coast  regions 
it  ranked  next  to  agriculture.  They  had  a  kind  of  raft,  halsa, 
made  of  bundles  of  reeds  or  poles  fastened  together  and  they 
used  nets,  harpoons  made  of  copper  or  tipped  with  copper, 
and  hooks  of  bone  or  copper.  Fowling  was  carried  on  by 
means  of  nets  and  quite  largely  engaged  in  especially  along 
the  coast  where  there  were  great  numbers  of  birds.  Game 
was  plentiful  in  the  mountainous  regions  and  often  great 
drives  were  made,  sometimes  as  many  as  fifty  or  sixty  thou- 
sand people  took  part  in  one  and  in  which  thirty  thousand 
head  of  game  might  have  been  taken.  They  used  dogs  in 
hunting,  having  had  at  least  two  varieties  of  hunting  dogs. 
Beasts  of  prey,  such  as  pumas,  bears,  foxes,  and  wild-cats 
were  killed.     The  real  purpose  of  the  hunt,  though,  was  to 

*  Joyce,  South  American  arehseology,  121. 


48  The  Historical  Child 

capture  the  huanaeo  and  vicuna,  from  which  the  wool  was 
cut  and  then  the  greater  part  of  them,  the  females  and  best 
males,  were  turned  loose  to  let  the  wool  grow  for  another  year, 
some  being  kept  for  food.  Besides  these  wild  animals,  they 
kept  great  flocks  of  llamas  and  alpacas,  the  alpaca  having 
been  raised  for  its  wool  and  the  llama  for  a  beast  of  burden, 
for  its  wool,  and  also  for  its  flesh  for  eating. 

The  Peruvians  excelled  in  the  art  of  weaving.  They 
made  cloth,  tapestry,  gauze,  and  embroidery.  They  used  cot- 
ton and  wool  for  the  most  part,  although  there  was  a  thread 
made  from  the  fiber  of  the  maguey.  One  of  the  principal 
occupations  of  the  women  was  the  preparation  of  the  thread 
for  weaving.  In  the  early  times  it  would  seem  that  the  loom 
was  unknown  but  at  the  time  of  the  entrance  of  the  Spaniards 
into  the  country  the  work  was  done  by  true  weaving  on  the 
loom.  There  were  a  number  of  designs  used,  variations  show- 
ing from  one  period  to  another.  Various  colors  were  used. 
The  patterns  were  woven  in  the  material  or  placed  on  the 
cloth  in  the  form  of  embroidery  or  painted  on  the  cloth,  and 
sometimes  the  cloth  was  ornamented  with  feathers  placed  on 
it  in  the  form  of  patterns.  They  also  wove  a  double-faced 
cloth  in  which  the  colors  were  different  on  the  two  sides. 
Delicate  gauzes  were  made  in  which  designs  were  embroidered 
on  fine  net  background. 

Pottery  was  another  important  industry.  There  were  very 
many  designs  and  all  kinds  of  utensils  and  the  workmanship 
was  good.  Gold  was  obtained  from  deposits  in  streams  and 
silver  was  mined.  These  metals  were  cast,  hammered,  sol- 
dered, and  inlaid,  as  the  people  were  very  skillful  in  working 
with  these  metals  and  did  especially  fine  work.  They  made 
vases,  bracelets,  mirrors,  necklaces,  and  all  kinds  of  delicate 
ornaments.  Copper  was  greatly  used,  tin  having  been  mixed 
with  it.  They  made  from  this  various  kinds  of  implements 
and  tools  and  weapons.  They  were  quite  skillful  in  wood- 
carving  and  inlaying  was  widely  practiced,  not  only  on  wood 
but  also  on  bone  and  shell  and  stone.  They  displayed  skill 
in  stone-carving,  being  able  to  cut  the  hardest  stones,  as 
emeralds  and  other  precious  stones.  Their  implements  were 
of  copper  or  stone,  as  iron  was  not  at  all  in  use. 

Money  was  not  in  use  among  the  Peruvians  and  so  there 
was  required  an  exchange  of  products.  As  the  products  of 
the  country  varied  it  became  necessary  that  ways  should  be 
provided  whereby  people  could  have  opportunity  to  exchange 


The  Child  in  Pern  49 

what  they  had  for  things  greatly  needed  from  other  people 
of  a  different  calling.  This  was  done  by  means  of  fairs 
held  throughout  the  empire.  In  the  more  populous  places 
they  took  place  three  times  a  month.  "These  fairs  afforded 
so  many  holidays  for  the  relaxation  of  the  industrious  la- 
borers." ^ 

Training  of  the  Inca  and  the  Order  of  the  Huaracu.  * '  In 
his  early  years,  the  royal  offspring  was  intrusted  to  the  care 
of  the  cumwutas,  or  'wise  men,'  as  the  teachers  of  Peruvian 
science  were  called,  who  instructed  him  in  such  elements  of 
knowledge  as  they  possessed,  and  especially  in  the  cumbrous 
ceremonial  of  their  religion,  in  which  he  was  to  take  a  prom- 
inent part.  Great  care  was  also  bestowed  on  his  military 
education,  of  the  last  importance  in  a  state  which,  with  its 
professions  of  peace  and  good  will,  was  ever  at  war  for  the 
acquisition  of  empire. 

"In  this  military  school  he  was  educated  with  such  of  the 
Inca  nobles  as  were  nearly  of  his  own  age ;  for  the  sacred 
name  of  Inca — a  fruitful  source  of  obscurity  in  their  annals — 
was  applied  indifferently  to  all  who  descended  by  the  male 
line  from  the  founder  of  the  monarchy.  At  the  age  of  six- 
teen the  pupils  underwent  a  public  examination,  previous  to 
their  admission  to  what  may  be  called  the  order  of  chivalry. 
This  examination  was  conducted  by  some  of  the  oldest  and 
most  illustrious  Incas.  The  candidates  were  required  to  show 
their  prowess  in  the  athletic  exercises  of  the  warrior;  in 
wrestling  and  boxing,  in  running  such  long  courses  as  fully 
tried  their  agility  and  strength,  in  severe  fast  of  several  days' 
duration,  and  in  mimic  combats,  which,  although  the  weapons 
were  blunted,  were  always  attended  with  wounds,  and  some- 
times with  death.  During  this  trial,  which  lasted  thirty  days, 
the  royal  neophyte  fared  no  better  than  his  comrades,  sleep- 
ing on  the  bare  ground,  going  unshod,  and  wearing  a  mean 
attire — a  mode  of  life,  it  was  supposed,  which  might  tend  to 
inspire  him  with  more  sympathy  with  the  destitute.  With  all 
this  show  of  impartiality,  however,  it  will  probably  be  doing 
no  injustice  to  the  judges  to  suppose  that  a  politic  discretion 
may  have  somewhat  quickened  their  perceptions  of  the  real 
merits  of  the  heir-apparent. 

"At  the  end  of  the  appointed  time,  the  candidates  selected 
as  worthy  of  the  honors  of  their  barbaric  chivalry  were  pre- 
sented to  the  sovereign,  who  condescended  to  take  a  principal 

"Prescott,  Conquest  of  Peru,  I,  140, 


50  The  Historical  Child 

part  in  tlie  ceremony  of  the  inauguration.  He  began  with  a 
brief  discourse,  in  which,  after  congratulating  the  young 
aspirants  on  the  proficiency  they  had  shown  in  martial  exer- 
cises, he  reminded  them  of  the  responsibilities  attached  to 
their  birth  and  station,  and,  addressing  them  affectionately 
as  'children  of  the  Sun,'  he  exhorted  them  to  imitate  their 
great  progenitor  in  his  glorious  career  of  beneficence  to  man- 
kind. The  novices  then  drew  near,  and,  kneeling  one  by  one 
before  the  Inca,  he  pierced  their  ears  with  a  golden  bodkin; 
and  this  was  suffered  to  remain  there  till  an  opening  had  been 
made  large  enough  for  the  enormous  pendants  which  were 
peculiar  to  their  order,  and  which  gave  them,  with  the  Span- 
iards, the  name  of  orejones.  This  ornament  was  so  massy  in 
the  ears  of  the  sovereign  that  the  cartilage  was  distended  by 
it  nearly  to  the  shoulder,  producing  what  seemed  a  monstrous 
deformity  in  the  eyes  of  the  Europeans,  though,  under  the 
magical  influence  of  fashion,  it  was  regarded  as  a  beauty 
by  the  natives. 

"When  this  operation  was  performed,  one  of  the  most  ven- 
erable of  the  nobles  dressed  the  feet  of  the  candidates  in  the 
sandals  worn  by  the  order,  which  may  remind  us  of  the 
ceremony  of  buckling  on  the  spurs  of  the  Christian  knight. 
They  were  then  allowed  to  assume  the  girdle  or  sash  around 
the  loins,  corresponding  with  the  toga  virilis  of  the  Romans, 
and  intimating  that  they  had  reached  the  season  of  manhood. 
Their  heads  were  adorned  with  garlands  of  flowers,  which, 
by  their  various  colors,  were  emblematic  of  the  clemency  and 
goodness  that  should  grace  the  character  of  every  true  war- 
rior; and  the  leaves  of  an  evergreen  plant  were  mingled  with 
the  flowers,  to  show  that  these  virtues  should  endure  without 
end.  The  prince's  head  was  further  ornamented  by  a  fillet, 
or  tasselled  fringe,  of  a  yellow  color,  made  of  the  fine  threads 
of  the  vicuiia  wool,  which  encircled  the  forehead  as  the  pe- 
culiar insignia  of  the  heir-apparent.  The  great  body  of  the 
Inca  nobility  next  made  their  appearance,  and,  beginning 
with  those  nearest  of  kin,  knelt  down  before  the  prince  and 
did  him  homage  as  successor  to  the  crown.  The  whole  as- 
sembly then  moved  to  the  great  square  of  the  capital,  where 
songs  and  dances  and  other  public  festivities  closed  the  im- 
portant ceremonial  of  the  huaracu."  ^ 

Education.  Education  in  ancient  Peru  was  wholly  re- 
served for  the  nobility.     The  common  people  were  treated 

•Prescott,  Conquest  of  Peru,  I,  22-25. 


The  Child  in  Peru  51 

very  kindly  by  the  ruling  class,  but  it  was  the  theory  of  their 
government  that  the  masses  were  only  children  and  must  be 
treated  as  such.  The  following  from  one  of  their  leading 
sovereigns  portrays  this  idea:  "Science  was  not  intended 
for  the  people ;  but  for  those  of  generous  blood.  Persons  of 
low  degree  are  only  puffed  up  by  it,  and  rendered  vain  and 
arrogant.  Neither  should  such  meddle  with  the  affairs  of 
government;  for  this  would  bring  high  offices  into  disrepute, 
and  cause  detriment  to  the  state. ' '  ^ 

•The  youth  of  the  nobility  were  placed  under  "wise  men," 
who  were  the  only  ones  having  sufficient  learning  to  do  such 
work.  The  youth  were  trained  for  the  especial  kind  of 
duties  they  were  to  perform  in  after  life.  They  were  taught 
the  laws  of  their  country,  the  principles  of  government,  and 
were  well  grounded  in  the  use  of  their  mother  tongue.  Those 
who  were  to  enter  into  a  religious  life  were  carefully  in- 
structed in  regard  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  reli- 
gion of  the  country.  All  were  made  familiar  with  the  use  of 
the  quipus. 

The  quipus  were  used  for  counting  and  computing  num- 
bers. The  quipu  was  a  cord  near  two  feet  long,  made  of 
threads  of  different  colors  twisted  together  and  having  smaller 
threads  hanging  from  them  like  fringe.  These  threads  were 
of  different  colors  with  knots  in  them  which  served  instead  of 
ciphers  in  computing.  Sometimes  the  threads  represented 
abstract  ideas,  as,  white  stood  for  peace,  red  for  war,  and, 
again  they  represented  concrete  objects,  as,  white  was  for 
silver,  yellow  for  gold. 


LITERATURE 

1.  .    .    .    Ancient  Peru — Its  people  and  its  monuments. 
Harper's  Magazine,  VII.  (1853),  7-38. 

2.  Joyce,  Thomas  A.,  South  American  archaeology. 

3.  Nadaillac,  JMarquis  de.  Prehistoric  America. 

4.  Prescott,  William  H.,  History  of  the  conquest  of  Peru. 

5.  Winsor,    Justin,    Narrative    and    critical    history    of 
America. 

^  Prescott,  Conquest  of  Peru,  I,  120. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   CHILD   IN   EGYPT 

The  Country.  The  desert  stretching  across  Africa  from  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  west  extends  into  Western  Asia  and  in 
its  whole  extent  it  is  broken  only  in  one  place  and  that  is 
the  long,  narrow  valley  made  by  the  Nile  river.  In  this 
valley  snow  and  frost  are  unknown  and  the  chief  character 
istic  of  the  climate  is  its  combined  warmth  and  dryness. 
There  is  but  little  rainfall  throughout  this  region  and  yet 
there  is  abundance  of  moisture,  which  comes  from  the  annual 
overflow  of  the  Nile,  and  which  overflow  also  greatly  enriches 
the  soil.  The  deserts  surrounding  Egypt  and  the  cataracts 
of  the  Nile  at  its  southern  border  isolated  this  country  so 
that  it  was  not  readily  disturbed  by  outside  peoples.  This 
isolation,  with  the  warm  climate  and  the  productive  soil,  gave 
just  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  development  of  man- 
kind in  its  early  times  and  thus  arose  a  people  in  this  region 
which  developed  into  a  great  nation,  extending  from  about 
5,000  years  before  Christ  down  to  its  overthrow  by  the  Per- 
sians in  525  B.  c.  The  country  was  divided  into  Upper 
Egypt,  the  principal  city  of  which  was  Thebes,  Middle  Egypt, 
with  Memphis  as  the  principal  city,  and  Lower  Egypt,  which 
included  the  Delta,  its  chief  city  being  Heliopolis, 

From  the  cataracts  on  the  South  to  the  IMediterranean  Sea 
the  Nile  pursues  its  course  for  over  five  hundred  miles,  till 
within  sixty  miles  of  its  mouth  it  divides  into  branches  and 
forms  the  part  called  the  Delta.  The  cultivable  land,  de- 
pending upon  the  extent  of  the  inundation,  averages  about 
five  and  a  half  miles  in  width,  varying  from  two  miles  in  its 
narrowest  part  to  ten  and  three-quarters  in  its  widest  part, 
including  the  river.  On  the  west  of  the  valley  is  a  range  of 
hills,  which  protects  it  from  the  sand  of  the  desert,  and  on 
the  east,  between  the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea,  is  also  another 
range  of  hills.  Lying  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  is  a  strip  of 
sand,  sometimes  as  great  as  two  and  a  half  miles  in  breadth, 
which  is  not  reached  by  the  inundation  and  consequently  re- 

62 


The  Child  in  Egypt  53 

mains  a  waste.  The  demarcation  between  this  waste  and  the 
fertile  soil  is  very  marked,  so  as  to  be  readily  noted.  The 
rock  in  these  hills  varies,  at  the  southern  extremity  being 
found  the  granite,  from  which  were  cut  out  their  monoliths 
and  made  into  obelisks  and  collossi;  further  north  is  found 
sandstone  of  various  colors,  and  from  which  were  built  the 
palaces  and  temples  of  that  region;  and  following  this  dis- 
trict is  a  part  wherein  there  is  a  limestone  formation,  in  which 
region  are  found  the  pyramids,  mostly  composed  of  this 
stone. 

The  People.  The  ancient  Egyptians,  although  in  Africa, 
were  not  from  African  races  but  were  of  Asiatic  descent,  as 
the  formation  of  their  skulls,  their  features,  their  hair,  and 
their  language,  show  that  they  were  of  a  Caucasian  race. 
' '  The  Egyptians  appear  to  have  been  among  the  darkest  races 
with  which  the  Greeks  of  the  early  times  came  into  direct  con- 
tact. .  .  .  The  hair  was  usually  black  and  straight.  In 
no  case  was  it  'woolly,'  though  sometimes  it  grew  in  short, 
crisp  curls.  .  .  .  The  forehead  was  straight,  but  some- 
what low;  the  nose  generally  long  and  straight,  but  some- 
times slightly  aquiline.  The  lips  were  over-full;  but  the 
upper  lip  was  short,  and  the  mouth  was  seldom  too  wide. 
The  chin  was  good,  being  well-rounded,  and  neither  retreat- 
ing nor  projecting  too  far.  The  most  marked  and  peculiar 
feature  was  the  eye,  which  was  a  long,  narrow  slit,  like  that 
of  the  Chinese,  but  placed  horizontally  and  not  obliquely. 
An  eyebrow,  also  long  and  thin,  but  very  distinctly  pencilled, 
shaded  it.  The  coloring  was  always  dark,  the  hair,  eyebrows, 
eyelashes,  and  beard  (if  any)  being  black,  or  nearly  so,  and 
the  eyes  black  or  dark  brown. 

''In  form  the  Egyptian  resembled  the  modern  Arab.  He 
was  tall ;  his  limbs  were  long  and  supple ;  his  head  M^as  well 
placed  upon  his  shoulders ;  his  movements  were  graceful ;  his 
carriage  dignified.  In  general,  however,  his  frame  was  too 
spare;  and  his  hands  and  feet  were  unduly  large.  The 
women  were  as  thin  as  the  men,  and  had  forms  nearly  similar. 
Children,  however,  appear  to  have  been  sufficiently  plump; 
but  they  are  not  often  represented."^ 

The  people  were  divided  into  classes  and  although  the  sep- 
aration of  the  classes  was  very  marked  and  distinct,  yet  there 
was  really  no  rigid  caste  system,  as  the  boundaries  were 
crossed  by  people  ascending  from  a  lower  class  into  a  higher. 

^Kawlinson,  History  of  ancient  Egypt,  I,  103. 


54  The  Historical  Child 

Of  course,  as  with  all  people,  it  was  quite  customary  for  the 
son  to  take  up  the  work  of  his  father,  but,  at  least,  in  some 
cases  this  was  not  compulsory.  In  one  instance  it  is  shown 
where  the  occupation  of  architect  had  descended  from  father 
to  son  for  twenty-one  generations.  There  is  difficulty  in 
knowing  just  what  were  the  divisions  of  society  but  at  any 
rate  there  were  at  least  three  distinct  classes,  which  were  the 
priestly  class,  the  military  class,  and  the  rest  of  the  people. 
The  first  two  classes,  from  whom  came  the  king,  were  exempt 
from  taxation.  The  rest  of  the  people  had  to  bear  the  burden 
of  the  taxes,  to  construct  the  public  works,  to  perform  the 
agricultural  tasks,  and  to  carrj-  on  all  mechanical  and  other 
pursuits.  They  had  a  hard  time  and  yet  the  laws  regarding 
them  seem  to  have  been  justly  administered  and  it  would  ap- 
pear as  if  they  were  contented  with  their  condition. 

"The  occupations  of  the  common  people  in  Egypt  were 
carefully  watched  by  the  magistrate,  and  no  one  was  allowed 
to  live  an  idle  life,  useless  to  himself  and  to  the  community. 
It  was  thought  right  that  the  industrious  citizen  should  be 
encouraged,  and  distinguished  from  the  lazy  or  the  profligate ; 
and  in  order  to  protect  the  good  and  detect  the  wicked,  it  was 
enacted  that  every  one  should  at  certain  times  present  himself 
before  the  magistrates,  or  provincial  governors,  and  give  in 
his  name,  his  place  of  abode,  his  profession  or  employment, 
and  the  mode  in  which  he  gained  his  livelihood,  the  particu- 
lars being  duly  registered  in  the  official  report.  The  time  of 
attendance  was  fixed,  and  those  from  the  same  parish  pro- 
ceeded in  bodies  to  the  appointed  office,  accompanied  by  their 
respective  banners,  and  each  individual  being  introduced 
singly  to  the  registering  clerks,  gave  in  his  statement  and 
answered  the  necessary  questions. ' '  ^ 

Slavery.  Slavery  has  a  very  early  date,  as  it  is  found  at 
the  very  beginning  of  history,  which  is  true  in  Egypt  as 
elsewhere.  The  origin  of  slavery  cannot  be  traced  but  in  the 
early  history  of  Egypt  it  appears  that  the  slaves  came  from 
outside  countries,  gained  through  wars  and  raids  and  by  pur- 
chase from  dealers.  ]\Iany  of  the  captives  who  became  slaves 
were  placed  in  the  semaee  of  the  king  and  used  on  public 
works,  as  the  building  of  temples,  cutting  canals,  raising 
dykes  and  embankments,  and  the  like.  They  were  used  in 
private,  both  black  and  white,  to  do  the  work  in  the  fields 
and  in  the  homes  and  elsewhere.     They  attended  on  guests 

*  Wilkinson,  Popular  account  of  ancient  Egyptians,  II,  199. 


The  Child  in  Egypt  55 

at  banquets  and  also  were  used  to  amuse  them  by  singing 
and  dancing  and  in  other  ways. 

The  master  had  full  power  over  his  slaves,  could  sell  them, 
remove  them  from  place  to  place,  if  they  escaped  could  pur- 
sue and  recapture  them,  and  do  with  them  as  he  pleased,  and 
yet  he  could  not  wilfully  murder  one  of  them  or,  if  so,  he 
himself  was  put  to  death.  "The  very  kind  treatment  of 
Joseph,  the  mode  of  his  liberation,  and  his  subsequent  mar- 
riage with  the  daughter  of  a  freeborn  Egyptian,  a  high  func- 
tionary of  the  sacerdotal  order,  are  striking  proofs  of  the 
humanity  of  the  Egyptians  and  of  their  indulgent  conduct 
toward  manumitted  slaves."^  At  the  same  time,  as  with 
slaves  everywhere  and  at  all  times,  no  doubt  they  were  often 
cruelly  treated,  as  is  given  concerning  the  Israelites,  when 
"there  arose  up  a  new  king  over  Egypt,  which  knew  not 
Joseph."* 

The  Home.  The  houses  in  the  towns  varied  in  size,  many 
of  one  story  and  maybe  some  of  four  or  five  stories,  but  for 
the  great  part  not  above  two  stories.  The  streets  of  the 
towns  were  narrow.  The  poorer  classes  lived  much  in  the 
open  air  and  so  did  not  use  their  houses  greatly.  The  wealth- 
ier classes  built  their  houses  so  as  to  be  cool  through- 
out the  summer.  To  keep  their  houses  cool  "a  line  of  trees 
ran  parallel  with  the  front  of  the  house ;  and  to  prevent  in- 
juries from  cattle  or  from  any  accident,  the  stems  were 
surrounded  by  a  low  wall,  pierced  with  square  holes  to  admit 
the  air."  ^  The  material  used  in  constructing  the  houses  was 
crude  brick,  baked  in  the  sun,  a  material  peculiarly  suited  to 
the  climate.  Wood  was  used  for  beams  and  doors,  sometimes 
for  floors,  and  the  finer  imported  woods  for  decorative  pur- 
poses. 

The  houses  were  of  different  sizes  and  arrangement.  Some 
of  the  houses  were  small,  having  an  open  court  in  front,  with 
three  or  four  small  rooms  adjoining  for  storing  grain  and 
other  things,  and  a  single  chamber  on  a  second  floor  above 
these  rooms,  stairs  leading  to  it  from  the  court.  Such  houses 
as  these  small  single  ones  probably  were  found  only  in  the 
country.  In  the  towns  the  smaller  houses  were  usually  built 
in  a  solid  row  along  a  street,  with  a  courtyard,  common  to 
several  dwellings.    The  wealthier  people  had  separate  houses, 

•Wilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  I,  459. 

*  Exodus  I,  8. 

*  Wilkinson,  op.  cit.,  I,  346. 


/ 


56  The  Historical  Child 

which  sometimes  were  quite  large,  covering  a  good  deal  of 
ground. 

Before  the  front  door  was  a  portico  or  porch,  about  twelve 
or  fifteen  feet  high  and  supported  on  columns  of  stone,  or 
if  of  wood  they  were  stained  to  represent  stone.  There  was 
a  large  front  entrance  and  on  either  side  a  small  door,  prob- 
ably for  servants  and  ordinary  use.  Sometimes  on  the  lintels 
or  imposts  of  the  entrance  the  owner's  name  was  written  and 
over  the  door  was  placed  a  phrase,  as,  "The  Good  House." 
Inside  next  to  the  entrance  was  a  small  open  court  with  a 
receiving  door  for  visitors,  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  was 
a  door  through  which  the  master  of  the  house  came  to  receive 
the  callers.  From  this  small  court  doors  led  to  a  larger 
court,  which  was  shaded  by  trees.  The  rooms  of  the  house 
were  arranged  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  large  court,  open- 
ing into  it.  The  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  were  used  chiefly 
as  store-rooms  for  furniture,  goods  of  various  kinds,  wines, 
oil,  etc.  Over  the  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  were  placed  the 
chambers  of  the  upper  story,  with  stairs  leading  to  them. 

The  ceilings  of  the  rooms  were  formed  with  rafters  of  the 
date  tree  with  transverse  layers  of  palm  branches  or  planks 
and  sometimes  they  were  vaulted  and  made  of  brick  and  in 
the  houses  of  the  rulers  they  might  have  been  arched  with 
stone.  The  floors  were  of  stone  or  a  composition  made  of  lime 
and  other  materials.  The  doors  opened  inward,  both  of  the 
rooms  and  the  outside  entrance.  The  doors  were  made  of 
wood,  often  stained  to  imitate  foreign  and  rare  wood.  They 
were  made  of  one  or  two  valves  and  they  turned  on  pins  of 
bronze,  which  were  fastened  to  the  wood  with  nails  of  the 
same  metal,  and  they  were  secured  within  by  means  of  a  bar 
or  bolt  or  with  a  wooden  lock.  The  openings  for  the  windows 
were  small  as  the  cloudless  sky  of  Egypt  gave  out  brillant 
light  and  small  openings  let  in  less  heat.  The  windows  had 
wooden  shutters  of  one  or  two  valves,  opening  on  pins  and 
secured  by  bars  and  bolts,  as  the  doors.  The  walls  and  ceil- 
ings were  stuccoed  and  ornamented  with  various  devices 
painted  on  them,  being  tastefully  done  in  form  and  arrange- 
ment of  colors.  A  terrace  was  placed  on  top  of  the  house 
and  covered  with  a  roof  and  supported  by  columns,  which 
during  the  summer  provided  a  refuge  from  the  heat  of  the 
day  and  a  sleeping-place  at  night. 

Beside  these  town  places  there  were  villas,  which  some- 
times were  quite  great  in  extent  with  a  large  mansion  and 


The  Child  in  Egypt  57 

beautiful  gardens,  watered  by  canals  from  the  Nile,  and  all 
surrounded  by  a  wall. 

The  poorer  classes  of  people  sat  cross-legged,  crouched  on 
the  ground,  knelt  on  one  or  both  knees,  or  sat  on  the  heels. 
Sometimes  as  a  token  of  respect  to  superiors,  the  people  of 
the  higher  classes  knelt  or  sat  on  the  heels,  but  usually  they 
used  chairs  or  stools  or  couches. 

The  chairs  were  of  various  kinds,  some  of  them  of  elegant 
form  and  made  of  ebony  and  other  fine  woods,  inlaid  with 
ivory,  and  covered  with  rich  stuffs.  Beside  the  single  chair, 
they  had  a  double  chair  for  two  persons,  which  often  was 
reserved  for  the  master  and  mistress  of  the  house,  and  occa- 
sionally offered  to  guests.  Most  of  the  chairs  had  backs,  some 
had  a  raised  piece  at  the  back,  while  others  were  made  in 
the  form  of  camp-stools.  They  were  usually  about  as  high 
as  they  are  now,  but  some  of  the  chairs  were  quite  low,  the 
seat  sometimes  being  as  low  as  eight  inches  from  the  floor. 
The  legs  were  usually  made  in  imitation  of  those  of  an  animal, 
as,  of  the  lighter  chairs  like  the  legs  of  an  antelope,  of  the 
heavier  like  those  of  a  lion.  In  the  finer  chairs  bars  were  not 
used  to  unite  the  legs.  The  seats  were  made  of  wood  or 
leather  and  sometimes  of  interlaced  string  or  leather  thongs, 
over  which  a  cushion  was  placed. 

The  finer  stools  were  very  much  as  the  chairs,  of  fine  work- 
manship and  of  rare  woods  inlaid  with  ivory.  Some  of  the 
cheaper  ones  had  solid  sides  while  others  had  three  legs.  They 
had  footstools  with  open  or  closed  sides,  covered  with  leather 
or  interlaced  string,  as  with  the  chairs.  They  used  couches, 
some  of  which  were  most  beautiful  in  form  and  workman- 
ship.   They  used  mats  and  carpets  and  rugs. 

The  tables  of  the  Egyptians  were  round,  square,  or  oblong. 
They  were  generally  made  of  wood,  although  some  were  of 
stone  or  metal.    The  smaller  tables  often  had  but  one  support,  \ 

in  the  center,  while  the  larger  ones  had  three  or  four  legs  or 
were  made  with  solid  sides.  In  sleeping,  for  the  head  they 
used  a  low  half  cylinder,  usually  of  wood,  sometimes  of  pot- 
tery or  stone,  some  of  the  wooden  ones  being  made  of  rare 
woods  and  ornamented.  The  poorer  people  slept  on  mats  on 
the  floor  but  probably  the  wealthier  people  had  bedsteads 
made  in  wicker  form  of  palm  branches  and  some,  perhaps, 
were  of  wood  and  bronze. 

Women  ajid  Marriage.  We  find  the  women  having  con- 
siderable power  in  ancient  Egypt.     They  had  full  control  of 


58  The  Historical  Child 

the  home,  as  it  appears  that  the  husband  entered  the  house 
of  his  wives,  rather  than  the  wives  to  have  entered  his. 
Royal  authority  and  supreme  direction  of  affairs  were  in- 
trusted without  reserve  to  women.  The  women  went  often 
into  public,  at  some  of  the  public  festivals  they  were  even 
expected  to  attend  with  their  husbands.  Even  greater  privi- 
leges were  accorded  to  the  women  of  the  middle  and  lower 
classes  as  they  often  went  and  came  as  they  liked. 

Plurality  of  wives  was  allowed,  except  in  the  case  of  priests, 
who  \)y  law  Avere  permitted  but  one  wife.  Yet  the  Egyptians 
generally  restricted  themselves  to  one  wife.  Marriage  of 
brother  and  sister  was  permitted  and  seemingly  encouraged 
from  a  religious  point  of  view. 

Although  in  most  cases  they  might  not  have  had  but  one 
wife,  yet  they  had  concubines.  These  appear  to  have  been 
obtained  mostly  in  war  or  bought  as  slaves  from  foreign  deal- 
ers, not  for  most  part  being  native  Egj^ptian  women.  These 
concubines  were  both  white  and  black,  but  the  black  were 
used  as  domestics  in  the  family.  Sometimes  the  white  concu- 
bine took  a  prominent  part  in  the  family,  ranking  next  to  the 
wives  and  children. 

All  the  children  born  to  a  father  were  considered  legitimate 
whether  the  offspring  of  a  wife  or  of  some  other  woman,  but 
those  who  were  born  of  a  brother  and  sister  in  legitimate 
marriage  took  precedence  of  those  whose  mother  was  of  in- 
ferior rank  or  a  slave. 

The  people  of  old  Eg^'pt  held  strong  opinions  on  the  be- 
havior of  their  women  and  so  punished  adulterj'^  very  severely. 
A  woman  detected  in  adultery  had  her  nose  cut  off,  as  it 
was  thought  this  would  be  a  severe  blow  to  her  charms  and 
so  make  her  less  attractive.  The  man  was  condemned  to 
receive  a  bastinado  of  one  thousand  blows.  If  a  man  used 
force  toward  a  free  woman  he  was  very  cruelly  punished. 

Child  and  Parent.  The  Egj^ptians  were  very  fond  of  their 
children.  Even  the  most  consequential  pontiff  did  not  affect 
indifference  toward  them.  They  cared  for  the  children  and 
did  not  permit  the  father  to  have  any  right  over  the  life  of 
his  offspring.  The  punishment  for  child-murder  was  very 
severe.  They  did  not  take  the  life  of  the  offender,  but  gave 
to  him  a  punishment  which  would  well  portray  to  him  the 
heinousness  of  the  crime.  In  the  case  of  the  killing  of  a  child, 
it  was  ordered  that  the  corpse  of  the  child  be  fastened  to  the 
neck  of  the  parent  offending,  and  for  three  entire  days  and 


The  Child  in  Effijpt  59 

niglits  was  the  embrace  of  the  dead  child  to  contin-ue,  under 
the  watchful  eyes  of  a  public  guard.  The  murder  of  a  parent 
was  considered  the  most  wicked  of  all  crimes.  In  this  case 
the  criminal  was  sentenced  to  be  lacerated  with  sharpened 
reeds  and  after  being  thrown  on  thorns  he  was  burnt  to 
death.  In  case  a  pregnant  woman  was  sentenced  to  death, 
the  punishment  did  not  take  place  till  after  the  birth  of  the 
child,  both  because  they  thought  it  wrong  to  take  the  life  of 
an  innocent  being  and  also  they  did  not  wish  to  deprive  the 
father  of  the  child,  which  might  become  his  support  in  later 
life. 

Children  were  taught  to  pay  great  respect  to  old  age.  The 
children's  greatest  duty  was  respect  for  and  care  of  parents. 
This  was  just  as  binding  among  the  upper  classes  as  with 
the  lower.  This  was  carried  up  even  to  the  very  highest,  as 
the  sons  of  the  king  acted  as  fan-bearers  to  him,  and  they 
also  walked  on  foot  behind  his  chariot  in  triumphal  proces- 
sions. 

Dress.  The  lower  orders  of  the  Egyptian  people  dressed 
in  a  very  simple  manner.  The  men  wore  a  sort  of  apron,  or 
kilt,  held  at  the  waist  by  a  girdle  or  sash,  or  else  short  draw- 
ers, extending  half  way  to  the  knees.  Sometimes  the  apron 
was  simply  bound  round  the  loins  and  lapped  over  in  front. 
When  at  heavy  labor  the  men  would  even  wear  less  clothing, 
as  they  would  use  the  girdle  about  the  body  at  the  waist  and 
fasten  to  it  in  front  a  roll  of  linen  and  pass  this  between  the 
legs  and  fasten  it  to  the  girdle  at  the  back.  The  men  of  the 
higher  orders  used  the  apron  also  and  wore  over  it  a  dress 
which  extended  to  the  ankles  and  had  large  sleeves.  Some- 
times this  dress  was  fringed  on  the  border  around  the  legs. 
Over  this  for  cool  weather  they  wore  a  woolen  cloak.  Some- 
times they  wore  over  the  apron  a  skirt  with  short  sleeves  and 
over  this  a  loose  robe  with  the  right  arm  left  exposed.  As  a 
distinguishing  mark,  the  princes  wore  a  peculiar  badge  at  the 
side  of  the  head,  which  descended  to  the  shoulders  and  was 
frequently  adorned  and  terminated  with  a  gold  fringe. 

The  women  of  the  lower  classes  usually  wore  a  loose  robe 
or  shirt,  with  tight  or  full  sleeves,  fastened  at  the  neck  with 
a  string,  and  over  this  they  wore  a  sort  of  petticoat  with  a 
girdle  about  it  at  the  waist,  and,  often  while  at  hard  work, 
this  costume  was  further  simplified  by  their  wearing  merely 
the  loose  shirt  or  robe  and  going  barefooted.  The  women  of 
the  higher  orders  wore  a  petticoat,  or  gown,  held  by  a  colored 


60  The  Historical  Child 

sash  at  the  waist  or  by  straps  over  the  shoulders,  and  over 
this  they  wore  a  large  loose  robe,  with  full  sleeves  and  tied 
in  front  below  the  breast.  Slaves  and  servants  were  not 
allowed  to  dress  as  their  mistresses.  They  wore  a  long  tight 
gown,  tied  at  the  neck,  with  short  sleeves,  reaching  nearly  to 
the  elbows.  When  entertaining  guests  by  dancing  or  other- 
wise at  banquets  and  the  like,  these  women  wore  over  their 
dress  a  long  loose  robe  and  strings  of  beads  around  their  hips. 

The  material  used  for  the  clothing  was  sometimes  cotton 
but  linen  was  preferred.  Wool  was  used  for  cloaks  for 
colder  weather.  Some  of  the  material  was  of  very  fine  tex- 
ture, this  being  particularly  true  of  the  linen.  There  was  a 
great  variety  of  patterns  in  brilliant  colors.  In  some  of  the 
striped  patterns,  the  stripes  were  of  gold  threads,  alternating 
with  red  lines  as  a  border.  The  most  elegant  stuff  and  beau- 
tiful patterns  were  reserved  for  the  robes  of  the  deities  and 
the  dresses  of  queens. 

The  men  of  ancient  Egypt  shaved  the  head  and  face,  never 
letting  the  hair  grow  except  when  they  were  in  mourning. 
Women,  on  the  contrary,  never  had  their  hair  cut  off,  even 
in  mourning  or  after  death.  They  wore  their  hair  long  and 
plaited,  generally  in  a  triple  plait,  the  ends  being  left  loose ; 
but  more  usually  two  or  three  plaits  were  fastened  together 
at  the  ends  by  a  woolen  string  of  the  same  color  as  the  hair, 
and  falling  around  the  head  to  the  shoulders.  An  ornamental 
fillet  was  bound  around  the  head  and  fastened  with  a  lotus 
bud,  which  fell  over  the  forehead.  The  plaits  of  hair  at  the 
side  Avere  held  in  place  by  a  comb  or  band  and  sometimes  a 
round  stud  or  pin  was  thrust  into  them  at  the  front.  The 
male  slaves  had  their  heads  and  faces  shaved  as  their  masters. 
The  female  slaves  generally  bound  their  hair  at  the  back  of 
the  head  into  a  sort  of  loop ;  sometimes  they  arranged  it 
in  long  plaits  at  the  back  and  at  the  sides  of  the  neck  and 
face. 

The  men  wore  wigs  both  within  the  house  and  without. 
Sometimes  the  whole  wig  was  of  plaited  hair,  sometimes  the 
upper  portion  was  of  curled  hair  and  the  lower  part  of  plaited 
hair,  and  again  the  whole  wig  was  of  short  locks  of  equal 
length.  Too,  cheap  wigs  were  made  in  woolen  and  other 
stuffs  in  imitation  of  hair.  "The  wig  was  worn  by  every 
gentleman ;  and  though  it  might  appear  ill-suited  to  a  hot 
climate,  the  interlaced  texture  of  the  ground  to  which  the 
hair  was  fastened,  and  the  protection  of  this  last  against  the 


The  Child  in  Egypt  61 

sun,  rendered  it  a  most  effective,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
coolest,  kind  of  covering  for  the  head. ' '  ^ 

"The  most  singular  custom  of  the  Egyptians  was  that  of 
tying  a  false  beard  under  the  chin,  which  was  made  of  plaited 
hair,  and  of  a  peculiar  form,  according  to  the  person  by  whom 
it  was  worn.  Private  individuals  had  a  small  beard,  scarcely 
two  inches  long;  that  of  a  king  was  of  considerable  length, 
square  at  the  bottom ;  and  the  figures  of  gods  were  distin- 
guished by  its  turning  up  at  the  end.  No  man  ventured  to 
assume,  or  affix  to  his  image,  the  beard  of  a  deity ;  but  after 
their  death  it  was  permitted  to  substitute  this  divine  emblem 
on  the  statues  of  kings,  and  all  other  persons  who  were  judged 
worthy  of  admittance  to  the  Elysium  of  futurity,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  having  assumed  the  character  of  Osiris,  to 
whom  the  souls  of  the  pure  returned  on  quitting  their  earthly 
abode.  "^ 

Both  men  and  women  wore  sandals,  which  often  were  care- 
fully and  beautifully  made.  They  were  made  of  leather,  and 
lined  with  cloth,  or  of  palm  leaves,  papyrus  stalks,  or  other 
similar  materials  in  a  sort  of  woven  or  interlaced  work.  Some 
were  pointed  and  turned  up  in  front,  some  had  a  sharp  flat 
point,  while  still  others  were  nearly  round. 

The  Egyptians  liked  ornaments  very  much.  They  used 
gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones,  and  also  cheaper  materials 
were  used  in  imitation  of  these.  Women  wore  earrings,  some 
quite  large.  The  women  seem  to  have  been  exceedingly  fond 
of  rings,  sometimes  wearing  two  or  three  on  the  same  finger, 
often  wearing  them  on  every  finger  of  the  left  hand  and  at 
the  same  time  on  a  finger  or  two  of  the  right  hand,  and  they 
even  wore  a  ring  on  the  thumb.  They  wore  anklets.  Both 
men  and  women  wore  armlets,  bracelets,  and  necklaces. 

The  men  carried  walking-sticks.  These  were  of  various 
lengths,  running  from  three  to  six  feet.  Some  had  a  knob 
at  the  top  while  others  had  a  peg  projecting  from  the  side. 
On  entering  a  house  the  sticks  were  left  at  the  door  or  in  the 
hall.  Where  a  party  was  being  given,  sometimes  a  poor  man 
was  employed  by  the  master  of  the  house  to  hold  the  sticks 
of  the  guests.  Quite  often  the  name  of  the  owner  was  written 
in  hieroglyphics  on  the  stick. 

For  improving  their  appearance,  the  ladies  of  ancient 
Eg>'pt  used  paints  and  cosmetics.    They  applied  kohl  to  the 

"  Wilkinson,  The  Egyptians  in  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs,  40. 
'Wilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  II,  333, 


62  The  Historical  Child 

eyes,  they  used  ointment  on  the  body,  the  ointment  having 
been  scented  in  various  ways,  they  stained  the  fingers  with 
red  henneh  and  the  eyelids  with  a  moistened  powder  of  a 
black  color.  They  kept  the  paints  and  ointments  in  bottles 
and  boxes  and  vases  of  various  forms  and  materials,  some 
being  ornamented.  They  had  pins  and  needles.  Some  of  the 
needles  were  of  bronze  and  from  three  to  three  and  a  half 
inches  in  length.  Some  of  the  pins  were  seven  or  eight  inches 
in  length,  with  or  without  heads,  used  for  arranging  the 
plaits  or  curls  of  the  hair.  They  had  combs,  usually  of  wood, 
about  four  inches  long  and  six  wide,  some  being  double  with 
small  teeth  on  one  side  and  large  teeth  on  the  other  side. 
They  had  mirrors  of  mixed  metal,  chiefly  copper,  carefully 
made  and  highly  polished,  nearly  round  in  form,  and  with 
handles  of  wood,  stone,  or  metal. 

These  people  were  of  cleanly  habits,  both  men  and  women. 
As  was  given  before,  the  men  kept  the  head  and  face  wholly 
shaved.  They  used  warm  and  cold  baths.  "The  priests  Avere 
remarkable  for  their  love  of  cleanliness,  which  was  carried 
so  far  that  they  shaved  the  whole  body  every  three  days,  and 
performed  frequent  daily  ablutions,  bathing  twice  a  day  and 
twice  during  the  night.  "^ 

Food  and  Drink.  Beef  and  goose  constituted  the  princi- 
pal part  of  the  animal  food  throughout  Egypt,  yet  the  cow 
was  held  sacred  and  forbidden  to  be  eaten.^  Among  the  ani- 
mals used  for  food  were  the  ox,  kid,  wild  goat,  and  gazelle. 
Of  fowls  there  were  the  goose  and  duck,  the  widgeon  and 
quail  and  other  wild  birds.  There  were  fish  in  plenty.  They 
had  a  variety  and  abundance  of  vegetables,  among  them  being 
onions,  garlic,  lentils,  beans,  cucumbers,  and  melons.  The 
lotus,  papyrus,  and  other  plants  that  grew  abundantly  along 
the  Nile  furnished  the  greatest  food  for  the  poorer  people. 
Among  the  grains  they  had  wheat,  barley,  and  durra.  Of 
the  fruits  were  dates,  figs,  pomegranates,  olives,  almonds, 
peaches,  and  grapes. 

For  grinding  the  grain  they  had  a  mill  of  two  circular 
stones,  the  lower  one  fixed  and  the  upper  one  arranged  to 
turn  on  a  pivot.  The  grinding  was  done  by  a  woman  turning 
the  upper  stone  by  a  handle,  the  grain  being  poured  through 
an  opening  in  the  center  of  the  upper  stone  so  as  to  get  be- 
tween the  stones  to  be  crushed  and  ground.     The  same  kind 

*  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  ancient  Egyptians,  II,  331. 

'Ibid.,  II,  22. 


The  Child  in  Egypt  63 

of  a  mill  was  made  on  a  larger  scale  and  turned  by  animals. 
The  better  classes  used  bread  made  from  wheat  while  the 
poorer  people  used  cakes  of  barley  or  durra  flour. 

Dinner  probably  came  at  midday  and  supper  in  the  eve- 
ning. It  would  seem  that  they  washed  before  the  meal  as  well 
as  after  partaking  of  it.  A  napkin  was  presented  to  each 
person  for  wiping  the  mouth  after  drinking.  It  was  their 
custom  to  sit  together  about  a  table  at  their  meals,  as  we  do 
now.  Men  and  women  sat  together,  although  sometimes  the 
sexes  were  entertained  separately  in  a  different  part  of  the 
room,  on  which  occasion  the  master  and  the  mistress  of  the 
house  sat  close  together  on  two  chairs  or  on  a  double  chair 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  room.  Water,  cooled  in  porous  bot- 
tles, or  wine  was  served  to  the  guests.  Knives  were  used 
for  the  carving  of  a  large  joint  and  spoons  were  provided 
the  guests,  for  soups  and  other  liquids,  but  they  did  not  have 
knives  or  forks,  so  they  ate  with  their  fingers,  each  one  dip- 
ping his  bread  into  a  dish  placed  in  their  midst,  one  after 
another  according  to  rank  as  guests. 

"The  Egyptians,  a  scrupulously  religious  people,  were 
never  remiss  in  expressing  their  gratitude  for  the  blessings 
they  enjoj^ed,  and  in  returning  thanks  to  the  gods  for  that 
peculiar  protection  they  were  thought  to  extend  to  them  and 
to  their  country,  above  all  nations  of  the  earth.  They  there- 
fore never  sat  down  to  meals  without  saying  grace;  and 
Josephus  says  that  when  the  seventy-two  elders  were  invited 
by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  to  sup  at  the  palace,  Nicanor  re- 
quested Eleazer  to  say  grace  for  his  countrymen,  instead  of 
those  Egyptians,  to  whom  that  duty  was  committed  on  other 
occasions. ' '  ^° 

"It  was  a  custom  of  the  Egyptians,  during  (or  according  to 
Herodotus  after)  their  repasts,  to  introduce  a  wooden  image 
of  Osiris,  from  one  foot  and  a  half  to  three  feet  in  height,  in 
the  form  of  a  human  mummy,  standing  erect,  as  Plutarch 
informs  us,  in  a  case,  or  lying  on  a  bier,  and  to  show  it  to 
each  of  the  guests,  warning  him  of  his  mortality,  and  of  the 
transitory  nature  of  human  pleasures.  He  was  reminded 
that  some  day  he  would  be  like  that  figure ;  that  men  ought 
'to  love  one  another,  and  avoid  those  evils  which  tend  to 
make  them  consider  life  too  long,  when  in  reality  it  is  too 
short';  and  while  enjoying  the  blessings  of  this  world,  to 
bear  in  mind  that  their  existence  was  precarious,  and  that 

^Wilkinson,  Popular  account  of  ancient  Egyptians,  I,  186. 


64  The  Historical  Child 

death,  which  all  ought  to  be  prepared  to  meet,  must  eventu- 
ally close  their  earthly  career. ' '  ^^ 

Wine  was  their  favorite  beverage  and  they  had  several 
different  kinds  of  it.  They  indulged  in  it  very  freely  and 
there  were  no  restrictions  on  its  use  ty  individuals.  It  was 
used  by  all  classes  of  the  people,  by  the  priests,  furnished  to 
soldiers,  offered  to  the  gods,  and  prescribed  as  medicine. 
"Women,  both  young  and  old,  were  permitted  to  have  wine, 
and  it  would  appear  as  if  there  were  no  restrictions  as  to 
their  use  of  it. 

The  Egyptians  also  had  beer,  which  was  made  from  barley, 
and  as  they  did  not  grow  hops  they  used  lupins,  skirret,  and 
an  Assyrian  root  for  flavoring  it.^^  "Besides  beer,  the 
Egyptians  had  what  Pliny  calls  factitious,  or  artificial,  wine, 
extracted  from  various  fruits,  as  figs,  myxas,  pomegranates, 
as  well  as  herbs,  some  of  which  were  selected  for  their  medi- 
cinal properties. "  ^^ 

There  were  excesses  in  drinking  committed  by  people  of 
all  classes,  both  men  and  women.  At  the  banquets  of  the 
rich  stimulants  were  sometimes  used  to  excite  to  further 
drinking,  the  cabbage  having  been  one  of  the  vegetables  used 
for  such  purpose. 

Food  and  Clothing  of  Children.  Swaddling  clothes  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  used  by  the  Egyptians  as  they  were  among 
the  Jews  and  some  other  nations.  If  the  child  could  not 
walk,  he  was  carried  by  the  nurse  or  mother  before  her  or 
at  her  side,  in  a  shawl  throAvn  around  her  back  over  a  shoul- 
der. It  was  the  custom,  no  matter  whether  the  child  had 
little  or  no  clothing  on,  to  have  a  string  of  beads  about  the 
neck,  having  occasionally  a  charm  suspended  in  the  center, 
a  symbol  of  truth  and  justice.  These  were  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  ill  luck  from  the  child,  and  to  make  him  wise  and 
virtuous. 

"The  dresses  of  children  of  the  lower  classes  were  very 
simple ;  and,  as  Diodorus  informs  us,  the  expenses  incurred 
in  feeding  and  clothing  them  amounted  to  a  mere  trifle. 
'They  feed  them,'  he  says,  'very  lightl}^  and  at  an  incredibly 
small  cost ;  giving  them  a  little  meal  of  the  coarsest  and  cheap- 
est kind,  the  pith  of  the  papyrus,  baked  under  the  ashes,  with 

"  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  ancient  Egyptians,  II,  50. 
"Wilkinson,  Egyptians  in  time  of  Pharaoh,  14. 
"Wilkinson,  Popular  account  of  ancient  Egyptians  I,  54. 


The  Child  in  Egypt  65 

the  roots  and  stalks  of  some  marsh  weeds,  either  raw,  boiled, 
or  roasted ;  and  since  most  of  them  are  brought  up,  on  ac- 
count of  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  without  shoes,  and  in- 
deed without  any  other  clothing,  the  whole  expense  incurred 
by  the  parents  does  not  exceed  20  drachm®  (about  13  shil- 
lings) each;  and  this  frugality  is  the  true  reason  of  the 
populousness  of  Egjpt.'  But  the  children  of  the  higher  oic- 
ders  were  often  dressed  like  grown  persons,  with  a  loose  robe 
reaching  to  the  ankles,  and  sandals."^* 

Industries.  The  ancient  Egyptians  engaged  in  many  in- 
dustries and  reached  a  high  stage  in  the  development  of  their 
country  and  their  own  powers.  The  country  was  immensely 
rich,  as  was  shown  from  the  objects  of  luxury  found  among 
them,  and  they  loved  pomp  and  splendor.  Their  accomplish- 
ments come  to  us  from  the  accounts  of  ancient  writers  and 
are  depicted  through  sculptures  and  paintings  found  upon 
the  walls  of  tem.ples,  palaces,  and  tombs,  and  remains  of  their 
work  still  exist  sufficient  to  show  the  great  things  they  did. 

The  life  of  ancient  Egypt  depended  upon  the  annual  rise 
of  the  Nile,  caused  by  the  rains  and  melting  of  snow  on  the 
mountains  in  the  interior  of  Africa.  This  rise  begins  in 
June,  reaches  the  highest  point  in  September,  remains  sta- 
tionary a  few  days,  then  recedes,  and  by  December  the  flood 
is  past.  This  inundation,  spreading  over  the  whole  country, 
left  the  land  covered  with  a  rich  dressing  so  that  no  further 
fertilizing  was  necessary  and  made  ancient  Egypt  probably 
the  most  fertile  tract  of  country  in  the  world.  This  rising  of 
the  Nile  produced  a  line  of  industries,  such  as  the  building 
of  canals  and  dykes  and  irrigation  works  as  well  as  the 
greatest  industry  of  all,  that  of  agriculture. 

Because  of  the  favorable  conditions  in  Egypt,  as  men- 
tioned above,  and  the  dense  population,  agriculture  was  the 
principal  industry.  So  efficient  did  the  people  become  in 
this  and  the  agricultural  laborers  were  so  frugal  in  their 
mode  of  living  that  there  was  a  great  surplus  of  products 
each  year,  which  gave  Egypt  advantages  which  no  other 
country  possessed,  giving  them  the  balance  of  trade  with 
other  nations.  The  principal  grains  were  wheat,  barley,  and 
durra.  Beside  these  grains  they  grew  beans,  peas,  and  len- 
tils, clovers,  lupins,  and  vetches,  flax  and  cotton,  various 
medicinal  herbs,  and  of  vegetables,  garlic,  leeks,  onions, 
"Wilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  II,  334. 


66  The  Historical  Child 

endive,  radishes,  melons,  cucumbers,  and  lettuce,  in  fact,  a 
very  large  number  and  a  great  variety  of  plants. 

As  soon  as  the  water  began  to  subside  and  land  to  appear, 
they  began  preparing  to  sow  the  grain.  On  the  highlands 
right  along  the  river  this  would  generally  be  in  October  and 
the  other  parts  following.  The  wheat  and  the  barley  were 
sown  about  November,  the  barley  ordinarily  ripening  in  about 
four  months  and  the  wheat  in  five.  The  durra  was  usually 
sown  about  April,  as  an  after-crop  when  the  wheat  and  the 
barley  had  been  cut  and  taken  off  the  ground.  The  ground 
was  prepared  by  means  of  a  very  rude  plow,  but  more  often 
by  the  hoe.  The  seed  was  sown  broadcast  over  the  surface 
of  the  land.  It  would  appear  as  if  neither  harrow  nor  rake 
was  used  to  cover  in  the  grain,  but  it  was  left  as  it  fell  on  the 
ground  to  germinate.  As  was  stated  before,  the  water  of 
the  overflow  of  the  Nile  was  carried  by  means  of  canals 
throughout  Egj-pt  and  retained  for  irrigating  the  land. 
When  the  land  was  elevated,  as  along  the  banks  of  the  Nile, 
they  used  the  shadoof,  a  contrivance  somewhat  like  the  old 
well-sweep  and  bucket,  to  lift  up  the  water  from  the  river 
or  wells  to  be  poured  over  the  soil.  When  crops  were  raised 
late  in  the  year  or  on  soil  not  covered  by  the  Nile,  they  some- 
times used  fertilizing  substances,  as  nitrous  earth  and  some 
other  kinds  of  dressing.  In  harvesting  the  wheat  was  cut 
a  little  ways  below  the  grain  with  a  toothed  sickle  and  placed 
in  baskets  and  carried  to  the  threshing-floor,  on  which  it 
was  deposited  and  cattle  driven  over  it  to  tread  out  the  grain. 
It  was  then  winnowed  with  wooden  shovels  and  put  in  sacks 
and  taken  to  the  granary. 

Of  the  domestic  animals  were  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  hogs, 
horses,  asses,  camels,  cats,  and  dogs.  The  cat  was  a  favorite 
animal  among  the  ancient  Egyptians.  They  never  allowed 
a  cat  to  be  killed  purposely,  cared  for  them  when  ill,  and 
embalmed  them  when  dead.  Dogs  also  were  well  considered 
by  them  and  they  had  several  breeds  of  them.  They  had 
learned  the  artificial  process  of  hatching  eggs  and  built  ovens 
expressly  for  that  purpose.  There  were  great  flocks  of  sheep 
and  they  were  well  taken  care  of,  great  attention  having 
been  given  to  their  proper  food  in  the  various  seasons  and 
they  were  carefully  treated  when  ill.  The  skill  of  the  Egyp- 
tians in  curing  animals  had  reached  a  high  stage. 

Hunting  was  an  industry  as  well  as  an  amusement.  There 
were  quite  a  number  of  different  animals  that  they  hunted. 


The  Child  in  Egijpt  67 

They  used  the  bow  and  arrow  and  other  weapons  and  also 
the  net,  which  in  hunting  large  animals  was  placed  across 
ravines  and  the  like  to  keep  them  from  escaping.  They 
hunted  with  dogs  and  they  even  had  cats  trained  to  hunt 
with.  The  Egj^ptians  were  expert  fowlers,  using  for  the 
most  part  nets  and  traps  for  catching  the  birds.  The  Nile 
was  celebrated  for  its  fish  and  fishing  was  an  important  in- 
dustry. The  net  was  greatly  used  in  fishing  and  the  rod  and 
line  and  spear  were  also  used.  Salted  as  well  as  fresh  fish 
were  used  as  food. 

There  were  a  great  number  of  people  engaged  in  manu- 
factures and  many  different  trades  were  found  among  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  Whether  each  one  was  compelled  by 
law  to  follow  the  trade  of  his  father,  it  is  probable  that 
most  of  them  did,  so  that  often  they  were  able  to  trace 
back  the  occupation  in  the  family  for  many  generations. 
It  is  probable  that  each  craft  had  its  own  particular  part 
of  the  city  set  aside  for  it  wherein  its  members  dwelt  and 
carried  on  their  particular  work  and  which  was  called  after 
it,  as,  the  quarter  of  the  goldsmiths,  and  so  on.  The  work- 
men became  very  proficient  in  their  work  and  a  number  of 
inventions  were  made  which  are  the  same  as  we  have  now, 
among  some  of  the  implements  invented  being  the  forceps, 
bellows,  blow-pipe,  and  siphon. 

They  were  celebrated  for  their  manufacture  of  cloths, 
having  made  such  of  cotton,  wool,  and  linen.  They  were 
woven  on  hand  looms,  some  of  which  were  vertical  and  others 
horizontal  and  must  have  been  of  considerable  size,  as  they 
wove  cloth  five  feet  wide  and  at  least  sixty  feet  in  length. 
The  spinning  and  weaving  was  the  work  of  women,  although 
men  did  sometimes  engage  in  this  work.  They  colored  the 
cloths,  using  dyes  and  paints,  and  varied  the  colors  in  them, 
making  patterns  and  showing  figures  of  animals  and  the  like. 
Whether  they  understood  the  principle  of  the  action  of  mor- 
dants, they  used  this  agency  to  make  the  cloth  take  the  color 
equally  and  also  to  change  the  hues. 

Glass  was  known  to  the  Egyptians  and  from  it  they  made 
bottles,  vases,  and  other  utensils,  beads  and  other  ornaments, 
and  they  were  quite  skillful  in  the  use  of  glass  in  counter- 
feiting the  amethyst  and  other  precious  stones.  They  had 
glazed  ware  a  long  time  before  they  used  glass.  There  were 
quite  a  large  number  of  people  engaged  in  pottery  work  and 
they  were  quite  skillful  in  the  manufacture  of  this  ware. 


68  The  Historical  Child 

There  were  many  varieties  and  forms  of  their  work  and  it 
included  rough  unglazed  ware  up  to  fine  glazed  vases,  highly- 
decorated  and  colored.  There  were  bottles  not  only  of  glass 
and  earthenware  but  also  of  leather  and  of  stone  and  there 
were  glass  bottles  enclosed  in  wicker-work  and  others  en- 
cased in  leather.  There  were  all  kinds  of  vases,  earthenware, 
stone,  bronze,  alabaster,  glass,  porcelain,  ivory,  bone,  silver, 
and  gold.  Some  of  the  vases  were  most  beautiful  in  make  and 
design,  inlaid  with  precious  stones  and  tastefully  ornamented. 

There  was  quite  an  industry  in  metal  working  among  them. 
There  was  probably  very  little  of  any  kinds  of  metals  found 
in  Egypt,  having  been  brought  in  from  other  countries. 
Gold  was  early  used  for  the  making  of  ornaments.  They 
soon  found  a  way  of  hardening  gold  by  alloying  it  with  sil- 
ver. They  learned  to  work  gold  in  various  ways.  They  cast 
it  into  figures,  molded  it  into  beads  by  pressure,  soldered  it, 
drew  it  out  into  wire,  used  it  in  plaiting,  beat  it  out  into 
sheets  for  gilding,  engraved  it  and  inlaid  it  with  precious 
stones.  Silver  came  into  use  later  than  gold  and  in  early 
times  it  was  scarcer  than  gold.  Copper  was  greatly  in  use 
among  the  ancient  Egyptians  and  by  alloying  it  with  tin  pro- 
duced bronze.  They  made  many  utensils  and  implements  of 
it  and  learned  to  make  it  so  hard  as  to  be  used  for  wood- 
cutting tools  and  chisels  for  cutting  limestone.  Lead  was 
used  by  them,  as  was  also  tin  and  antimony.  Iron  was  per- 
haps used  in  the  early  times,  but  it  would  appear  that  it 
was  not  greatly  in  use  till  the  time  of  the  Greeks  and  the 
Romans  in  Egypt. 

They  were  quite  skillful  in  working  in  wood  and  there  was 
a  large  class  of  wood-workers,  divided  into  carpenters,  cabi- 
net-makers, wheelwrights,  coopers,  coffin-makers,  and  boat- 
builders.  There  was  quite  a  good  deal  more  wood  in  Egypt 
in  ancient  times  than  now  and  yet  not  a  great  variety.  The 
principal  trees  were  the  date-palm,  used  for  beams;  the 
Theban  palm,  used  for  rafts,  and  other  purposes  connected 
with  water,  and  for  beams  and  rafters ;  the  sycamore,  used 
for  large  planks  for  boxes,  tables,  doors,  and  the  like ;  the 
tamarisk,  a  hard  and  compact  wood,  used  for  the  handles  of 
tools  and  wooden  implements ;  and  the  acacia,  used  for  planks 
and  masts  of  boats.  For  ornamental  purposes  and  where 
fine  woods  were  required,  they  were  brought  in  from  other 
countries,  as,  the  cedar,  cypress,  cherry,  walnut,  and  deal 
from  Syria,  and  ebony  and  other  rare  w^oods  from  Ethiopia. 


The  Child  in  Egypt  69 

Wood  was  used  for  buildings  and  parts  of  buildings,  for 
furniture,  boxes,  barrels,  chariots,  traveling  cars,  palanquins, 
coffins,  statues,  statuettes,  and  in  boat-building.  "Regarding 
the  methods  of  woodworking,  certainly  the  axe  was  the  primi- 
tive tool,  as  shown  by  the  royal  architect  being  designated 
by  the  axe.  In  the  scenes  of  the  pyramid  age  we  find  the  saw 
about  three  feet  long  worked  with  both  hands,  the  mallet 
and  chisel  for  cutting  mortise-holes,  and  the  adze  in  constant 
use  for  shaping  and  for  smoothing  wood.  To  this  day  the 
small  adze  is  a  favorite  tool  of  the  Eg;y'ptian  carpenter  and 
boat-builder.  For  smoothing  down  the  caulking  inside  a  boat, 
heavy  pounders  of  stone  were  used,  held  by  a  handle  worked 
out  on  each  side  of  the  block.  Drills  were  also  commonly 
used  both  on  wood  and  stone,  worked  by  a  bow. ' '  ^^ 

As  they  had  only  the  hand-saw,  in  making  planks  they 
usually  placed  the  piece  of  timber  upright  and  fastened  it 
to  stakes  and  then  sawed  downward  through  it.  In  joining 
two  boards  end  to  end,  they  would  cut  into  their  ends  and 
join  them  and  glue  them  and  then  insert  a  flat  wooden  pin 
through  them  from  edge  to  edge  and  then  pass  a  round 
wooden  pin  through  the  boards  into  the  flat  pin,  thus  ef- 
fectually keeping  the  joints  from  opening  and  thereby  show- 
ing the  thoroughness  of  their  work.  They  dovetailed  and 
veneered  and  stained  and  painted  and  gilded  and  inlaid  their 
woodwork,  thus  displaying  a  high  degree  of  skill  in  working 
with  wood. 

One  of  the  greatest  industries  with  them  was  that  of  brick- 
making,  which  was  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  govern- 
ment and  carried  on  solely  by  it.  ''The  use  of  crude  bricks 
baked  in  the  sun  was  universal  throughout  the  country  for 
private  and  for  many  public  buildings,  and  the  dry  climate  of 
Egypt  was  peculiarly  suited  to  those  simple  materials.  They 
had  the  recommendation  of  cheapness,  and  even  of  durability ; 
and  those  made  3,000  years  ago,  whether  with  or  'without 
straw,'  are  even  now  as  firm  and  fit  for  use  as  when  first  put 
up  in  the  reigns  of  the  Amunophs  and  Thothmes,  whose 
names  they  bear.  When  made  of  the  Nile  mud,  or  alluvial  de- 
posit, they  required  straw  to  prevent  their  cracking;  but 
those  formed  of  clay  (now  called  Hdyheh)  taken  from  the 
torrent  beds  on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  held  together  with- 
out straw;  and  crude  brick  walls  frequently  had  the  addi- 

"Petrie,  Arts  and  crafts  of  ancient  Egypt,  140. 


70  The  Historical  Child 

tional  security  of  a  layer  of  reeds  or  sticks  placed  at  in- 
tervals to  act  as  binders."^® 

The  tanning  and  preparation  and  use  of  leather  was  quite  a 
leading  industry  of  ancient  Egypt,  so  much  so  that  a  section 
of  the  city  of  Thebes  was  set  apart  for  the  exclusive  use  of 
the  workers  in  skins  and  leather.  The  demand  for  leather 
was  so  great  Egypt  itself  could  not  supply  the  hides  neces- 
sary and  great  quantities  of  hides  were  imported  from  for- 
eign countries  and  also  the  skins  of  wild  animals  were  brought 
in  and  used.  They  tanned  the  skins  and  dyed  them  and 
made  some  fine  leather  and  also  embossed  the  leather. 

The  tools  used  for  working  in  leather  were  a  semi-circular 
knife,  a  sort  of  chisel,  an  awl,  a  stone  for  polishing,  cutting 
table,  bending  form,  hone,  and  a  few  others.  They  made 
shoes,  sandals,  coverings  and  seats  for  chairs  and  sofas,  bow- 
cases,  ornaments  and  harness  for  chariots,  and  adornments 
for  harps.  Skins  were  used  to  cover  shields  and  other  things 
and  they  were  shaped  into  forms  for  carrying  water,  wine, 
and  other  liquids.  They  made  thongs  by  twisting  leather 
strips  together,  cutting  the  strips  from  circular  pieces  of 
leather  as  is  done  now. 

The  Egyptians  were  famed  for  their  manufacture  of  paper, 
which  was  made  from  the  papyrus  plant.  This  grew  almost 
altogether  in  Lower  Egypt,  on  marshy  land  or  in  the  ponds 
left  after  the  inundation  of  the  Nile.  The  right  of  growing 
and  selling  it  belonged  to  the  government  and  the  particular 
species  from  which  the  paper  was  made  was  closely  guarded 
and  perhaps  not  allowed  to  grow  anywhere  else  than  in  the 
restricted  territory  in  the  Delta.  The  paper  was  made  by 
removing  the  outer  covering  of  the  stalk,  cutting  the  interior 
lengthwise  into  thin  pieces  and  laying  these  together  side  by 
side  on  a  flat  board  and  across  them  another  layer,  cementing 
the  strips  together  with  a  kind  of  glue,  then  putting  all  under 
pressure,  and  after  drying  the  paper  was  completed  and  ready 
for  use. 

The  paper  made  from  the  papyrus  differed  in  quality  ac- 
cording to  the  growth  of  the  plant  and  from  which  part  of 
the  stalk  the  pieces  were  taken,  the  stalk  growing  to  about 
fifteen  feet  in  height.  The  breadth  of  the  paper  differed, 
running  from  six  inches  under  an  early  Dynasty  to  fourteen 
and  a  half  inches  under  a  later  Dynasty.  When  a  sheet  of 
papyrus  had  been  used  for  writing,  it  was  rolled  up,  and  if 

"  Wilkinson,  Popular  account  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  II,  194. 


The  Child  in  Egypt  71 

important  and  to  be  preserved  for  any  length  of  time,  tied 
round  the  middle  and  secured  by  clay  stamps  with  a  seal. 
The  cost  of  the  papyrus  was  so  great  that  it  was  used  only 
in  funeral  rituals,  conveyances,  deeds,  and  other  public  docu- 
ments, and  sometimes  the  old  writing  was  erased  and  then 
the  roll  was  written  on  again.  For  ordinary  purposes  of 
writing,  pieces  of  broken  pottery,  stone,  board,  and  leather 
were  used. 

The  Nile  traversing  the  entire  length  of  Egypt  formed  a 
great  avenue  for  trade,  as  it  was  an  open  and  easy  way  for 
reaching  all  parts.  Not  only  did  the  Nile  give  access  to  all 
parts  about  it,  but  also  the  canals  going  out  from  it  and 
running  parallel  with  it  connected  the  various  parts  and 
gave  ready  ways  on  which  domestic  trade  could  go.  The 
other  nations  bordering  the  Mediterranean  Sea  carried  on 
important  maritime  trade  with  Egypt  and,  too,  there  was  a 
great  caravan  trade  with  the  interior  of  Africa  and  parts  of 
Asia.  From  Ethiopia  came  gold,  ivory,  and  slaves;  from 
Arabia  was  obtained  an  incense  necessary  in  the  religious  cere- 
monies; from  India  were  received  spices.  "Syria  took  Egyp- 
tian chariots  by  hundreds;  Tyre  imported  'fine  linen  with 
broidered  work';  Greece,  large  quantities  of  paper;  India  and 
Arabia,  linen  fabrics ;  Etruria,  glass,  porcelain,  and  alabaster ; 
Assyria,  perhaps,  ivories.  In  the  earlier  times  Egyptian 
manufactures  must  have  been  altogether  unrivalled ;  and 
their  glass,  their  pottery,  their  textile  fabrics,  their  metal- 
work,  must  have  circulated  freely  through  the  various  coun- 
tries bordering  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Red  Sea. ' '  ^'^ 

Among  the  important  industries  of  Egj^pt  were  the  works 
in  sculpture,  painting,  and  architecture.  The  men  engaged 
in  these  occupations  ranked  high,  along  with  the  scribes. 

There  were  three  kinds  of  sculpture  in  ancient  Egypt. 
One  kind  was  that  of  statuary,  sculpture  in  the  round,  where 
the  complete  figure  was  shown ;  a  second  kind  was  relief, 
where  the  figure  was  raised  from  the  flat  surface  by  cutting 
away  the  stone  about  it ;  the  third  kind  was  intaglio,  in  which 
there  was  a  cutting  of  the  figure  into  the  flat  surface,  sink- 
ing the  figure  below  the  surface,  and  in  one  form  of  this 
the  cutting  was  done  about  the  figure  so  as  to  leave  it  raised 
from  the  interior,  almost  up  to  the  level  of  the  surface  of 
the  stone. 

The  old  Egyptians  reached  a  stage  of  progress  in  which  the 

"Eawlinson,  History  of  ancient  Egypt,  I,  496. 


72  The  Historical  Child 

block  of  stone  for  the  sculpture  figure  was  cut  away  from 
the  original  rock  and  transported  to  the  place  where  it  was 
to  stand.  Yet  the  figure  w^as  rarely  if  ever  cut  entirely  away 
from  the  stone  and  so  did  not  stand  forth  separate,  detached, 
a  statute  in  and  of  itself.  That  which  most  kept  Egyptians 
sculpture,  perhaps,  from  reaching  to  the  highest  attainment 
was  the  conventionality  in  the  displaying  of  figures.  As  the 
sculptures  were  used  in  the  decoration  of  tombs  and  temples, 
religion,  which  is  ever  conservative,  prescribed  certain  atti- 
tudes for  the  figures,  so  that  there  was  not  much  left  for 
the  working  out  by  the  individual  sculptor,  and  although 
there  was  an  exactness  of  finish  attained  there  was  not  that 
expression  which  comes  through  allowing  freedom  to  the  in- 
dividual sculptor,  and  in  consequence  there  is  very  much  of 
a  sameness  in  the  products  of  the  sculptors  running  through 
the  twenty  centuries  of  old  Egypt. 

As  with  sculpture  so  with  painting,  the  conventional  forms 
were  demanded  of  the  painter  so  that  although  mechanical 
skill  became  great,  there  was  not  that  high  artistic  effect  that 
is  attained  where  individuality  is  permitted  to  display  itself. 
The  walls  of  buildings  were  not  broken  by  windows,  as  the 
brilliancy  of  light  was  such  that  few  openings  were  neces- 
sary and  the  openings  let  in  heat.  The  walls  on  the  interior 
were  covered  with  a  coating  of  stucco,  which  was  white  or 
whitish,  and  then  decorated  with  paintings  displaying  scenes 
and  events  in  the  life  of  the  people  and  the  nation.  The 
ceilings  were  also  painted.  The  colors  used  were  black  and 
white,  red,  blue,  and  yellow,  green  and  brown.  Columns  and 
other  parts  of  buildings  were  also  stuccoed  and  painted  and 
even  the  same  was  done  with  statues  and  other  products  of 
the  sculptors. 

The  early  buildings  in  Egypt  were  made  of  brick  or  by 
the  interweaving  of  palm-sticks.  From  these  rude  structures 
to  the  great  temples  and  pyramids  makes  the  architecture 
of  that  country  a  most  marked  feature  of  its  progress.  The 
architecture  of  Egj^pt  in  its  rectangular  form  and  massive- 
ness  fits  well  into  the  nature  of  the  land,  which  frames  plain 
and  cliff  about  these  buildings  as  a  proper  background.  Yet 
size  is  not  so  much  the  essential  characteristic  of  this  archi- 
tecture but  rather  strength  and  durability,  which  were  the 
chief  features  of  the  structures,  whether  large  or  small.  Al- 
though they  were  familiar  with  the  arch  and  used  it  very 
much  in  brickwork,  yet  it  would  appear  that  it  was  not  used 


The  Child  in  Egypt  73 

in  the  great  buildings  of  stone,  or,  if  so,  it  was  hid  in  the 
building  and  kept  away  from  the  external  forms.  ^^ 

The  kinds  of  stone  used  in  sculpture  and  architecture  were 
limestone,  sandstone,  granite,  basalt,  alabaster,  and  diorite. 
The  stone  was  cut  out  in  blocks  from  the  quarry,  the  surfaces 
were  picked  smooth  with  a  short  adze,  the  blocks  were  then 
sawn  and  cut  with  drills,  and  probably  all  prepared  at  the 
quarry  ready  for  use  at  the  building.  Sand  was  used  as  the 
cutting  material  with  the  soft  stones  and  emery  with  the 
harder  ones.  Whether  the  cutting  material  was  used  as 
powder  or  set  as  separate  teeth  on  the  copper  saw  blade 
cannot  be  determined,  yet  in  some  instances  it  would  appear 
that  the  emery  was  set  in  the  tool  as  teeth.  The  great  prob- 
lem to  us  is  how  these  stones  were  transported  from  the 
quarries  and  set  up  in  their  places.  One  obelisk  is  estimated 
to  have  weighed  886  tons  and  it  was  taken  over-land  a  dis- 
tance of  138  miles.  Some  of  the  obelisks  of  seventy  to 
eighty  feet  in  length  and  weighing  near  300  tons  each  were 
conveyed  a  distance  of  more  than  800  miles.^**  Two  great  eol- 
lossi,  weighing  1,175  tons  each,  were  carried  upstream  a  dis- 
tance of  450  miles.-"  It  would  appear  that  sometimes  the 
stone  were  placed  on  sleds  and  drawn  by  oxen  down  to  the 
river,  where  by  an  inclined  plane  they  were  placed  on  vessels, 
while  again  these  blocks  were  hauled  by  large  bodies  of 
men  over-land  to  their  places  of  destination. 

The  greatest  of  all  their  buildings  were  the  Great  Temple 
at  Karnak  and  the  Great  Pyramid  at  Ghizeh.  The  temple 
at  Karnak  was  1,200  feet  long  and  340  feet  wide,  with  an 
entire  area  of  396,000  square  feet,  and  with  pylons,  obelisks, 
and  columns,  and  it  is  called  "the  greatest  of  man's  archi- 
tectural works. ' '  The  Great  Pyramid  at  Ghizeh  has  a  square 
base  the  length  of  each  side  of  which  is  764  feet,  covering 
an  area  of  about  twelve  acres.  Its  original  perpendicular 
height  is  estimated  at  about  485  feet.  "The  solid  masonry 
which  it  contained  is  estimated  at  more  than  89,000,000  cubic 
feet,  and  the  weight  of  the  mass  at  6,848,000  tons.  The  base- 
ment stones  are  many  of  them  thirty  feet  in  length  and 
nearly  five  feet  high.  Altogether  the  edifice  is  the  largest 
and  most  massive  building  in  the  world,  and  not  only  so, 
but  hy  far  the  largest  and  most  massive — the  building  which 

''  Petrie,  Arts  and  crafts  of  ancient  Egypt,  6. 

"  Wilkinson,  Manners   and  customs  of  ancient  Egypt,  II,  306. 

=«' Petrie,  op.  cit.,  26. 


74  The  Historical  Child 

approaches  it  the  nearest  being  the  Second  Pyramid,  which 
contains  17,000,000  cubic  feet  less,  and  is  very  much  inferior 
in  the  method  of  its  construction. ' '  ^^ 

Sickness  and  Death.  It  would  appear  that  the  study  and 
practice  of  medicine  began  at  a  very  early  time  in  Egypt. 
Principles  and  remedies  were  given  out  from  time  to  time 
till  finally  they  were  brought  together  in  the  form  of  medi- 
cal works  and  all  physicians  were  expected  to  study  them 
and  to  use  the  prescrilDed  remedies.  The  medical  skill  of  the 
Egyptians  became  known  to  other  parts  of  the  world  and 
they  were  consulted  and  called  to  foreign  countries  to  give 
advice  and  treatment.  They  went  so  far  as  to  divide  the 
study  and  practice  of  medicine  into  specialties  and  so  there 
were  physicians  attending  to  one  kind  of  illness  onl}-,  as,  one 
for  the  diseases  of  the  eyes,  another  for  the  diseases  of  the 
intestines,  and  so  on,  accoucheurs  having  been  usually,  if  not 
always,  women.  The  physicians  were  given  salaries  by  the 
government  and  fixed  by  it  and  also  they  were  permitted  to 
receive  fees  for  their  advice  and  attendance  upon  patients, 
but  when  in  military  service  they  could  not  charge  fees. 

On  account  of  the  glaring  light  and  the  sandy  plains  and 
the  overflow  of  the  Nile,  some  of  the  prominent  troubles  were 
of  the  eyes  and  such  as  were  connected  with  malaria.  In 
treatment  of  illness,  it  was  held  that  the  patient  had  been 
attacked  by  some  evil  influence,  hence  to  cure  him  was  first 
necessary  to  find  what  was  the  nature  of  this  evil  spirit  and 
to  drive  it  out  or  to  destroy  it.  This  was  the  task  of  those 
skilled  in  sorcery,  through  incantations,  amulets,  and  the  like. 
Then  the  diseases  that  had  been  carried  into  the  body  by  the 
evil  influences  were  to  be  cured  by  medicine  and  medical 
treatment.  Physicians  were  held  responsible  for  their  treat- 
ment of  a  disease  and  if  contrary  to  the  established  system 
they  were  punished  and  the  death  of  a  patient  under  such  cir- 
cumstances was  considered  a  capital  offense.  Yet  if  they 
had  exhausted  all  the  prescribed  remedies  without  producing 
good  effect,  they  could  prescribe  new  remedies  and  hence  an 
opportunity  for  advancement  in  the  science  of  medicine.  In 
their  practice  they  strove  to  prevent  illness  by  directing 
attention  to  regimen  and  diet ;  they  purged  the  system  by 
use  of  emetics  or  clysters;  and  they  used  drugs  and  medical 
herbs. 

When  a  death  occurred,  all  the  women  of  the  household 

"  Eawlinson,  History  of  ancient  Egypt,  I,  204. 


The  Child  in  Egypt  75 

covered  their  faces  with  dust  and  mud  and  with  bosoms  ex- 
posed ran  out  through  the  streets,  striking  themselves  and 
uttering  loud  cries  of  grief.  Friends  and  relatives  joined  the 
procession  and  the  demonstrations  became  the  louder.  If 
the  deceased  person  had  been  of  wide  repute,  many  other 
people  went  into  the  line  of  mourners  and  hired  mourners 
were  employed  to  increase  the  lamentations  and  thereby  en- 
large the  public  display  of  respect  to  the  dead.  For  seventy- 
two  days  the  mourning  was  carried  on  in  the  house,  lamenta- 
tions were  made,  the  funeral  dirge  was  sung,  all  amusements 
and  indulgences  were  abstained  from,  and  the  men  allowed 
their  hair  and  beard  to  grow.  Thus  they  endeavored  to  show 
respect  to  the  deceased  and  their  great  affliction  by  his  de- 
parture. 

One  of  the  great  arts  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  was  that 
of  embalming.  It  constituted  a  distinct  profession.  The 
embalmers  had  wooden  models  of  mummies,  displaying  the 
three  different  ways  of  embalming.  The  first  way  of  em- 
balming was  very  expensive  and  was  used  only  by  the  wealthy 
class  and  people  of  high  position;  the  second  way  was  more 
simple  and  quite  less  expensive  and  used  by  the  middle  class 
of  people;  the  third  way  was  very  simple  and  very  cheap 
and  employed  by  the  lower  classes.  After  embalming  the 
body  was  returned  to  the  family  and  put  into  a  case  and 
placed  in  a  room  upright  against  the  wall,  and  sometimes 
they  were  retained  by  the  family  for  quite  a  while  before 
their  burial. 

When  the  time  for  burial  came,  the  mummy  was  put  into 
a  coffin  of  wood  or  stone  to  be  placed  in  a  tomb,  which  may 
have  been  hewn  in  the  rock  or  built  up  of  brick  or  rock  and 
usually  on  the  western  side  of  the  Nile.  Some  of  the  tombs 
were  of  great  extent  and  highly  ornamented  with  paintings 
and  sculptures  and  some  were  immense  structures.  The  pyra- 
mids were  built  for  tombs.  The  funeral  of  any  important  per- 
sonage was  a  great  occasion.  There  was  much  display  and 
much  noisy  lamentations  and  it  was  very  costly.  Upon  reach- 
ing the  Nile  the  body  was  placed  on  the  funeral  barge  and 
the  procession  went  out  on  the  river  to  the  lake  of  the  dead. 
Before  the  deceased  could  be  taken  across  the  lake  for  burial 
he  had  to  meet  the  tribunal  of  death.  Forty-two  judges  were 
at  the  bank  of  the  lake  and  any  one  could  bring  accusation 
against  the  deceased.  The  judges  considered  the  accusation 
and  acted  upon  it  and  if  the  decision  was  acquittal  then  burial 


76  The  Historical  Child 

in  the  tomb  took  place,  but  if  tbe  accusation  was  sustained 
burial  was  denied.  The  judgment  was  carried  out  on  the 
body  of  any  person  in  the  country,  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor, 
the  meanest  subject  or  a  Pharaoh,  and  there  are  instances 
of  deceased  Pharaohs  having  been  denied  public  burial. 

"All  the  legitimate  tendencies  exerted  by  this  singular  in- 
stitution were  obviously  for  good.  It  sent  forth  from  the 
very  entrance  of  the  tomb  a  most  powerful  persuasive  to  live 
a  life  of  virtue.  It  appealed  to  some  of  the  strongest  of  hu- 
man motives,  and  enforced  that  appeal  by  the  severest  of  all 
sanctions,  the  exclusion  of  the  body  from  its  sepulchre,  and 
of  the  soul  from  the  abodes  of  the  blessed.  It  is  not  a  little 
singular  that  a  custom  apparently  so  salutary,  and  so  early 
introduced,  should  not  afterwards  have  been  adopted  by  other 
nations.  "^^ 

Child  and  Religion.  The  child  played  a  part  in  the  re- 
ligion of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Even  one  of  their  gods, 
Harpocrates,  was  represented  by  an  infant,  having  his  finger 
to  his  mouth  and  that  striking  characteristic  of  a  young  child 
— a  protruding  abdomen.  The  birth  of  a  child  was  a  matter 
for  thanksgiving  offerings  through  the  priests  to  the  gods. 
Herodotus  says:  "When  parents,  living  in  town,  perform 
vows  for  the  recoA^ery  of  their  children's  health,  they  offer 
prayers  to  the  deity  of  whom  the  animal  is  sacred,  and  then 
shaving  a  portion,  or  half,  or  the  whole  of  the  child's  head, 
they  put  the  hair  into  one  scale  of  the  balance  and  money 
into  the  other  until  the  latter  outweighs  the  former;  they 
then  give  it  to  the  person  who  takes  care  of  the  animal  to 
buy  fish  (or  other  food)."^^ 

On  some  occasions  when  the  sacred  bull  was  led  in  pro- 
cession through  the  town,  the  procession  was  led  by  children, 
and  on  such  occasions  it  was  thought  that  these  children  re- 
ceived the  gift  of  foretelling  future  events.  Wilkinson  gives 
the  following  from  Plutarch :  ' '  They  even  look  upon  children 
as  gifted  with  a  kind  of  faculty  of  divination,  and  they 
are  ever  anxious  to  observe  the  accidental  prattle  they  talk 
during  play,  especially  if  it  be  in  a  sacred  place,  deducing 
from  it  presages  of  future  events. ' '  ^* 

Amusements.  In  the  earlier  times  of  ancient  Egypt,  as  of 
all  nations,  when  the  struggle  for  living  required  the  putting 

^'Dean,  History  of  civilization,  I,  381. 

**  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  ancient  Egyptians,  III,  243. 

"  Ibid.,  II,  455. 


The  Child  in  Egypt  77 

forth  of  the  energies  and  but  little  leisure  was  allowed,  there 
was  not  much  time  for  recreation  and  the  people  were  not 
much  given  to  amusements.  As  wealth  grew  and  there  was 
leisure  time,  the  desire  for  amusement  and  entertainment 
increased  until  there  grew  up  in  the  Egyptian  character  a 
softness  and  inclination  to  luxurious  living.  Great  banquets 
were  given,  where  hosts  vied  with  one  another  in  entertaining 
lavishly  and  in  furnishing  amusement  for  the  guests,  till  it 
would  appear  as  if  they  devised  every  possible  kind  of  amuse- 
ment. Nor  was  the  zest  for  amusement  confined  to  the  upper 
classes,  for  during  the  inundation  of  the  Nile,  when  but  little 
work  could  be  done,  the  peasantry  gave  themselves  up  to 
pastime  and  sport.  Many  of  the  kinds  of  entertainment 
given  at  the  banquets  were  performed  on  the  streets  and  open 
places. 

Dancing  was  an  indispensable  entertainment  at  an  Egyp- 
tian party  and  music  was  required  with  the  dance.  They 
danced  to  the  music  of  the  harp,  lyre,  guitar,  pipe,  tam- 
bourine, and  other  instruments,  and  in  the  streets  also  to 
the  drum.  Dancing  was  not  done  by  the  guests,  as  it  was 
held  not  to  be  proper  for  the  upper  classes  to  dance,  al- 
though the  lower  classes  indulged  in  this  amusement  and 
greatly  enjoyed  it.  The  dancing  was  carried  on  before  the 
guests  by  slaves  taught  the  steps  for  that  purpose  or  by 
hired  performers  who  made  a  profession  of  furnishing  danc- 
ing and  music  for  festive  occasions.  Graceful  posings  and 
movements  and  especial  skill  and  grace  in  the  use  of  the 
hands  were  the  important  features  of  the  dance.  Both  men 
and  women  danced  for  hire,  the  women  showing  the  superior 
grace  and  elegance  and  the  men  displaying  the  most  spirit. 
The  dress  of  the  female  dancers  was  usually  a  loose  flovv'ing 
robe,  reaching  to  the  ankles,  fastened  at  the  waist,  and  around 
the  hips  was  a  small  narrow  girdle  of  various  colors  and 
ornamented  with  beads.  The  material  of  the  dress  was  of  a 
very  fine  texture  and  thin,  showing  the  form  and  movement 
of  the  limbs  in  dancing. 

There  were  various  ways  of  dancing.  Sometimes  one  per- 
son danced  alone,  sometimes  they  danced  in  pairs,  again 
there  were  several  dancers  together  sometimes  of  both  sexes 
and  then  of  but  one  sex.  Some  danced  to  slow  music,  while 
others  preferred  lively  tunes,  men  sometimes  displaying  great 
spirit,  bounding  from  the  ground.  The  aim  of  the  dance 
was  to  display  a  succession  of  figures  in  which  were  ex- 


78  The  Historical  Child 

hibited  a  great  variety  of  gestures.  Twirling  was  much  used 
in  dancing  and  the  pirouette  was  quite  a  favorite  form  with 
them.  In  one  dance  two  parties  would  each  dance  on  one 
leg  toward  one  another  and  perform  a  series  of  evolutions 
and  then  retire  from  one  another.  In  another  step,  stand- 
ing on  one  foot  the  dancer  would  strike  the  ground  with 
the  heel,  changing  hack  and  forth  from  one  foot  to  the  other. 
The  dances  of  the  lower  classes  were  sometimes  in  the  form 
of  a  pantomiiiie,  in  which  there  was  a  preference  shown  for 
the  ludicrous  rather  than  the  graceful. 

Music  v,as  very  popular  with  the  Egyptians  and  they 
had  both  \ocal  and  instrumental.  They  had  numerous  songs 
and  for  various  occasions.  They  had  quite  a  variety  of  musi- 
cal instruments.  Music  was  used  in  military  movements,  in 
religious  exercises,  in  their  social  functions,  and  in  the  wail- 
ing for  the  dead.  Music  formed  a  part  of  the  education  of 
a  member  of  the  upper  classes,  but  he  did  not  display  this 
at  social  functions,  as  that,  like  dancing,  was  given  over  to 
professionals.  Both  men  and  women  of  the  priestly  order, 
though,  did  render  service  with  voice  and  instrument  in  re- 
ligious ceremonies. 

"It  is  sufficiently  evident,  from  the  sculptures  of  the  an- 
cient Egyptians,  that  their  hired  musicians  were  acquainted 
with  the  triple  symphony;  the  harmony  of  instruments,  of 
voices,  and  of  voices  and  instruments.  Their  band  was  vari- 
ously composed,  consisting  either  of  two  harps,  with  the  sin- 
gle pipe  and  flute;  of  the  harp  and  double  pipe,  frequently 
with  the  addition  of  the  guitar;  of  a  fourteen-stringed  harp, 
a  guitar,  lyre,  double  pipe,  and  tambourine;  of  two  harps, 
sometimes  of  different  sizes,  one  of  seven,  the  other  of  four 
strings;  of  two  harps  of  eight  strings,  and  a  seven-stringed 
lyre;  of  the  guitar,  and  the  square  or  oblong  tambourine; 
of  the  lyre,  harp,  guitar,  double  pipe,  and  a  sort  of  harp, 
with  four  strings,  which  was  held  upon  the  shoulder;  of  the 
harp,  guitar,  double  pipe,  lyre,  and  square  tambourine;  of 
the  harp,  two  guitars,  and  the  double  pipe ;  of  the  harp,  two 
flutes,  and  a  guitar ;  of  two  harps  and  a  flute ;  of  a  seventeen- 
stringed  lyre,  the  double  pipe,  and  a  harp  of  fourteen  strings; 
of  the  harp  and  two  guitars ;  or  of  two  seven-stringed  harps 
and  an  instrument  held  in  the  hand,  not  unlike  an  Eastern 
fan,  to  w^hich  were  probably  attached  small  bells,  or  pieces 
of  metal  that  emitted  a  jingling  sound  when  shaken,  like  the 
crescent-crowned  hells  of  our  modern  bands;  besides  many 


The  Child  in  Egypt  79 

other  combinations  of  these  various  instruments;  and  in  the 
Bacchic  festival  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  described  by 
Athenajus,  more  than  600  musicians  were  employed  in  the 
chorus,  among  whom  were  300  performers  on  the  kiihara."  ^^ 

As  was  stated  before,  dwarfs  and  deformed  persons  were 
attached  to  the  households  of  the  greater  people  as  a  means 
of  entertainment  as  in  Rome  and  Medieval  Europe.  These 
dwarfs  and  also  others  engaged  in  buffoonery  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  guests.  There  were  various  tricks  performed  by 
jugglers,  and  we  find  there  the  old  cup  or  shell  game,  in 
which  a  little  ball  or  pea  is  rolled  about  on  a  board  from 
one  inverted  cup  to  another  to  guess  under  which  it  finally 
rested.  There  were  many  kinds  of  acrobatic  feats,  mostly 
performed  by  women,  such  as  two  performers  swinging 
around  in  a  reckless  fashion  while  holding  hands.  This  was 
varied  by  two  men  holding  the  hands  of  two  women  and  whirl- 
ing them  around  with  feet  braced  together.  There  were 
tumbling  exhibits  of  turning  forward  and  backward  on  the 
hands,  somersaulting  off  one  another's  shoulders,  and  even 
sometimes  doing  these  feats  while  holding  one  foot  with  a 
hand.  There  were  tests  of  strength  wherein  two  men  would 
sit  back  to  back  and  each  strive  to  rise  first  from  the  ground, 
and  in  another  test  they  would  try  who  could  lift  the  heaviest 
weight  or  raise  a  bag  of  sand  with  a  straight  arm  up  over 
head.  They  would  throw  knives  at  a  board,  each  contestant 
striving  to  strike  his  knife  in  the  center  of  the  board  or  on 
a  mark. 

The  most  common  indoor  games  were  odd  and  even,  mora, 
and  draughts,  all  of  which  it  would  appear  were  played  in 
Egypt  from  very  ancient  times.  In  odd  or  even  bones, 
beans,  nuts,  almonds,  and  coins  were  used  and  any  indefinite 
number  was  held  between  the  hands,  the  game  being  to  guess 
whether  odd  or  even.  The  game  of  mora  was  usually  played 
by  two  persons,  each  at  the  same  time  quickly  throwing  out 
the  fingers  of  one  hand,  then  trying  to  guess  the  number 
of  fingers  shown  by  both.  Draughts  was  a  favorite  game 
of  all  ranks.  It  was  played  by  two  people  on  a  board  similar 
to  the  present  checker-board,  but  the  pieces  were  not  flat, 
being  raised,  more  like  the  pieces  in  chess,  and  picked  up 
like  chessmen  between  thumb  and  finger.  In  another  game 
hooked  rods  were  used  by  which  a  small  hoop  was  to  be 
snatched  from  one  another,  the  skill  in  this  was  for  one  per- 

*  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  ancient  Egyptians,  I,  438. 


80  The  Historical  Child 

son  to  get  his  hoop  loose  from  his  opponent's  rod  and  then 
snatch  it  away  quickly  before  he  had  time  to  stop  it.  In 
one  game  a  player  knelt  with  face  toward  the  ground  between 
two  others,  who  held  over  him  in  their  closed  hands  shells  or 
dice,  the  number  of  which  he  was  to  guess  before  being  al- 
lowed to  rise.  They  played  with  dice  and  probably  played 
several  other  games  of  chance. 

Wrestling  was  a  favorite  amusement  among  the  lower 
classes.  They  fought  with  the  single-stick  and  among  the 
boatmen  of  the  Nile  were  conflicts  with  long  poles.  Mock 
fights  were  common,  especially  with  the  military  classes, 
sometimes  quite  a  great  affair  wherein  a  temporary  fort  would 
be  erected  and  attacked  by  a  party  with  a  battering-ram  and 
other  implements  of  war  and  vigorously  defended  by  the  party 
within  the  fort.  -.There  were  bull  fights,  sometimes  between 
the  animals  and  again  men  would  fight  the  bulls.  The  ani- 
mals were  carefully  trained  to  fight  and  prizes  were  awarded 
to  the  owner  of  the  victorious  combatant.  It  is  pretty  cer- 
tain that  animals  were  taught  to  perform  tricks  and  to  dance. 

All  classes  of  the  Egyptians  delighted  in  hunting,  fowling, 
and  fishing.  In  hunting  they  used  the  bow,  the  spear,  the 
lasso,  and  the  net  to  place  across  enclosures.  There  were 
preserves  on  some  of  the  estates  in  which  animals  were  kept 
for  hunting,  but  the  greatest  sport  was  hunting  out  on  the 
desert.  Dogs  were  used  and  different  breeds  reared,  some 
for  attacking,  some  for  coursing,  and  the  like.  Sometimes 
there  would  be  a  great  hunt  arranged,  with  beaters  for 
forcing  the  game  into  quarters  where  they  could  be  enclosed 
with  nets  and  then  hunted  within.  In  hunting  for  birds 
and  water-fowl  the  real  sportsman  used  only  the  throwing- 
stick,  which  was  from  a  foot  and  a  quarter  to  two  feet  in 
length,  about  one  inch  and  a  half  in  breadth,  and  slightly 
curved  -at  the  upper  end.  The  hunter  would  usually  go  out 
in  a  boat  into  the  places  covered  with  tall  reeds  and  lotuses 
and  gliding  swiftly  in  among  the  birds,  or  using  a  decoy  bird 
to  attract  them  toward  him,  he  would  cast  the  throwing-stick 
at  them  as  they  arose  and  thus  fell  them.  Often  a  cat  would 
accompany  the  hunter  which  was  trained  to  get  the  birds 
as  they  fell  and  bring  them  to  the  boat.  In  the  pleasure- 
grounds  of  villas  were  ponds  well  stocked  with  fish.  The 
fish  were  caught  from  them  by  hook  and  line.  But  the  real 
fisherman  used  the  bident  spear,  which  sometimes  had  feath- 
ers at  one  end,  like  an  arrow,  but  more  often  without,  and 


Th&  Child  in  Egypt  81 

sometimes  the  spear  had  a  string  attached  to  it  to  bring  it 
back  when  thrown.  Running  his  boat  over  the  surface  of 
the  water,  as  he  would  see  a  fish  he  would  cast  his  spear  at  it. 
They  prided  themselves  on  their  skill  with  the  spear. 

Games,  Plays,  and  Toys.  The  children  and  young  people 
among  the  ancient  Egyptians  engaged  in  many  sports  and 
they  were  encouraged  in  this  by  their  elders,  particularly  in 
those  activities  of  an  outdoor  nature,  as  they  were  considered 
to  be  conducive  to  good  health  through  exercise  of  the  body. 
The  young  people  took  part  in  the  singing  and  other  music 
and  at  least  among  the  lower  classes  in  the  dancing.  They 
went  out  with  their  parents  and  other  relatives  on  fishing 
trips  and  bird  hunting  and  the  youth  went  with  the  men  on 
hunting  trips.  The  youth  of  both  sexes  practiced  shooting 
at  a  target  with  the  bow  and  arrow. 

The  game  of  ball  was  one  of  the  great  games  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, participated  in  by  children  and  adults  of  both  sexes, 
but  it  appears  to  have  been  more  indulged  in  by  the  women. 
Some  of  the  balls  were  made  of  leather  or  skin,  sewed  with 
string,  and  stuffed  with  bran  or  husks  of  corn,  some  being 
about  three  inches  in  diameter.  In  one  of  the  favorite  games 
the  ball  was  thrown  and  caught  and  the  one  failing  had  to 
carry  the  other  woman  who  caught  it  on  her  back  till  this 
one  failed  to  catch  it,  when  she  had  to  do  the  carrying. 
The  women  rode  sidewise  in  short  petticoats  on  the  backs  of 
the  losers.  In  another  game  the  ball  was  thrown  as  high  as 
possible  and  the  catcher  would  leap  up  and  catch  it  before 
the  feet  would  touch  the  ground.  Again  when  the  ball 
was  thrown  to  them  they  would  catch  it  with  the  hands  be- 
hind the  back  and  even  while  standing  on  one  leg. 

The  playthings  of  the  little  child  are  often  found  buried 
with  it.  They  had  dolls  of  various  kinds,  being  made  of 
wood,  stone,  and  enamelled  pottery.  They  often  were  painted, 
the  inferior  ones  being  the  most  gaudily  colored.  Some  were 
of  rude  construction  with  head  and  body  and  without  arms 
and  legs,  while  others  were  small  models  of  the  human  figure. 
Some  were  jointed,  the  arms  and  legs  moving  on  pins.  Some 
had  artificial  hair,  while  others  had  beads  in  imitation  of 
hair  hanging  from  the  head.  Some  grotesque  figures  were 
formed  and  by  means  of  strings  could  be  made  to  assume 
various  postures.  One  such  figure  was  that  of  a  crocodile 
which  could  be  made  to  amuse  the  child  by  its  grimaces  and 
by  the  opening  and  closing  of  its  mouth.     Some  figures  of 


82  The  Historical  Child 

persons  could  be  made  to  go  through  the  motions  of  washing 
and  of  kneading  dough.  One  was  the  figure  of  a  person  with 
jointed  arms  and  legs,  which  could  be  thrown  about  by  the 
pulling  of  a  string,  and  which  still  exists  with  us  today  in 
the  jumping-jaek.  They  also  had  pigs,  ducks,  pigeons  on 
wheels,  boats,  balls,  marbles,  and  miniature  sets  of  household 
furniture. 

Education.  The  ancient  Egyptians  were  very  much  in- 
terested in  the  education  of  the  young.  It  would  appear  that 
the  parent  was  left  entire  freedom  in  the  selecting  what 
education  and  how  much  the  child  should  have.  In  the  mat- 
ter of  education  there  seemed  to  be  no  caste  whatever,  as  the 
poor  boy  and  son  of  one  of  the  lower  classes  could  take  his 
place  in  school  by  the  side  of  the  rich  boy  or  the  son  of  the 
noble. 

A  clever  boy  in  school  had  great  opportunities,  be  he  from 
whatever  class  of  society.  He  was  encouraged  to  go  on  to 
literary  life,  which  meant,  if  successful,  entering  into  the  em- 
ploy of  the  government  and  reaching  the  very  highest  places. 
Many  a  great  nobleman  so  arose  in  Eg\^pt  and  often  was 
found  on  his  monument  after  his  death:  "His  ancestors  were 
unknown  people." 

There  were  elementary  schools,  probably  none  provided  by 
the  state,  and  whether  there  were  schools  or  not  in  a  com- 
munity, there  were  teachers  to  be  had  for  the  instruction  of 
the  young.  AVith  the  temples  were  connected  higher  schools 
and  in  the  capitals  of  the  three  districts  of  Egj^pt,  Thebes, 
Memphis,  Ileliopolis,  the  temple  schools  were  quite  important 
centers  of  learning.  The  child  started  into  the  elementary 
school  at  near  five  years  of  age  and  continued  till  he  left  for 
work,  or  to  enter  a  higher  school,  or  else  he  might  have  gone 
into  the  office  of  a  scribe  or  physician  or  architect  to  learn 
directly  the  work  of  his  profession.  The  vast  majority  of  the 
children  received  very  little  training  beyond  the  rudiments 
of  education  and  what  instruction  was  given  to  them  by  their 
parents  in  teaching  them  their  trades.  Some  of  the  young 
people  continued  with  their  schooling  and  entered  the  schools 
of  the  temples  and  there  came  in  contact  with  the  learned 
men  of  the  state  and  received  a  higher  education.  A  very 
few  of  these,  who  displayd  special  aptitude  for  learning,  were 
permitted  to  enter  into  the  deeper  studies  and  to  whom 
was  thrown  open  all  the  knowledge  possessed  by  the  wisest 
men  of  their  day.    Little  is  known  about  the  education  of 


The  Child  in  Egypt  83 

girls.  As  the  women  ranked  high  in  Egj^pt  and  took  part 
in  the  public  festivities  and  religious  ceremonies,  they  must 
have  received  such  education  as  would  prepare  them  for  their 
duties  in  life. 

The  purpose  of  education  in  ancient  Egypt  was  to  prepare 
for  some  one  of  the  callings  of  priest,  scribe,  architect,  engi- 
neer, physician,  soldier,  musician,  artisan.  It  was  necessary 
to  be  educated  to  enter  into  office  and  to  rise  in  position. 
Thus  the  education  was  of  a  utilitarian  nature.  The  most 
important  calling  outside  the  priesthood  was  that  of  the 
scribe.  The  scribe  learned  about  official  documents  and  the 
management  of  business  and  to  read  and  write  the  three 
forms  of  writing — hieroglyphic,  hierotic,  demotic — and  also 
he  studied  ethics,  philosophy,  and  law.  The  architect  studied 
mathematics  and  science  and  the  history  that  would  give  him 
a  knowledge  of  art.  The  physician  was  taught  such  anat- 
omy and  physiology  as  was  known,  remedies  and  incantations, 
and  other  things  pertaining  to  his  calling.  "Whatever  may 
be  considered  about  this  education,  it  did  give  Egypt  a  high 
place  among  the  old  nations  of  the  world  and  caused  its 
civilization  to  continue  through  many  centuries. 

In  the  home  and  in  the  school  it  was  impressed  on  the 
children  to  be  respectful  to  their  elders.  They  were  taught 
to  be  careful  of  looks  and  gestures,  that  such  should  be  of 
a  proper  kind.  It  was  not  permitted  to  use  any  dance 
or  ode  at  the  feasts  and  sacrifices  that  had  not  been  passed 
on  by  the  proper  authorities.  The  children  were  not  per- 
mitted to  hear  or  to  learn  any  verses  or  songs  than  such  as 
were  of  a  virtuous  giving  character. 

The  discipline  in  school  was  quite  severe.  One  teacher 
spoke  thus:  "The  hawk  is  taught  to  fly  and  the  pigeon  to 
nest ;  I  shall  teach  you  your  letters,  you  idle  villain. "  ^^  A 
pedagogical  saying  runs:  **A  young  fellow  has  a  back,  he 
hears  when  we  strike  it." 

"Plato  says  the  Egyptians  taught  numbers  to  children  in 
their  play  by  distributing  amongst  them  a  certain  number  of 
fruits,  or  other  things,  the  same  number  to  be  given  to  many 
or  to  few  children,  so  that  by  dividing  them  amongst  them- 
selves they  learnt  lessons  in  arithmetic ;  and  all  sorts  of  num- 
bers were  given  to  them  in  their  games  and  plays  as  arith- 
metical problems.  "^^ 

"Laurie,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  education,  47. 

*^V/ilkinson,  Manners  and  customs  of  ancient  Egyptians,  II,  489. 


84  The  Historical  Child 

For  written  work  they  had  wooden  blocks  covered  with 
red  or  white  stucco.  Copies  were  engraved  on  wooden  or 
stone  tablets  and  then  the  children  copied  them  on  their  tab- 
lets. AVork  was  also  given  by  dictation.  The  older  pupils 
wrote  from  dictation,  or  from  copies,  extracts  from  the  best 
writers.  This  trained  also  in  penmanship  and  spelling.  Often 
the  pupils  copied  an  "instruction,"  which  consisted  of  moral 
precepts  of  an  ancient  writer.  Often  the  instruction  con- 
sisted of  letters  between  student  and  teacher. 


LITERATUKE 

1.  Brugsch-Bey,  Henry,  A  history  of  Egypt  under  the 
Pharaohs. 

2.  Dean,  Amos,  A  history  of  civilization. 

3.  Graves,  Frank  Pierrepont,  A  history  of  education,  Be- 
fore the  middle  ages. 

4.  Laurie,  S,  S.,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  edu- 
cation. 

5.  Maspero,  0.,  Life  in  ancient  Egypt  and  Assyria. 

6.  Maspero,  G.,  The  dawn  of  civilization. 

7.  Petrie,  "W.   M.   Flinders,   Arts  and   crafts  of  ancient 
Egypt. 

8.  Rawlinson,  George,  History  of  ancient  Egypt. 

9.  Wilkinson,  Sir  J.  Gardner,  A  popular  account  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians. 

10.  Wilkinson,  Sir  J.  Gardner,  The  Egyptians  in  the  time 
of  the  Pharaohs. 

11.  Wilkinson,  Sir  J.  Gardner,  The  manners  and  customs 
of  the  ancient  Egyptians. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   CHILD  IN  INDIA 

Caste.  The  caste  system  in  India  was  the  most  fixed  of  any 
of  the  nations.  In  this  way  the  natural  divisions  into  which 
mankind  placed  itself  in  a  free  country  was  not  allowed,  but 
fixed  and  hereditary  classes  were  formed.  There  were  four 
principal  classes :  The  Brahmans,  the  priests ;  the  Kshatriyas, 
the  warriors;  the  Vaisyas,  the  farmers  and  traders;  the 
Sudras,  the  laborers.  Below  these  was  a  class  of  the  very- 
lowest. 

There  was  very  little  opportunity  for  a  member  of  one  caste 
going  into  a  higher,  so  that  an  impulse  for  higher  striving  was 
of  no  avail,  and  if  ever  such  came  to  a  member  of  a  lower  caste 
it  must  have  soon  died  away.  This  entailed  especial  disadvan- 
tages upon  the  children,  for  a  boy's  whole  situation  in  life 
depended  upon  the  class  to  which  the  father  belonged  and, 
consequently,  his  occupation  and  education.  This  rigid  caste 
system  might  have  brought  contentment  to  the  people,  as 
there  was  no  use  of  being  discontented  with  one's  lot,  but  such 
contentment  could  not  bring  great  progress. 

Women  and  Marriage.  In  the  early  times  in  India,  women 
were  not  excluded  as  they  were  later,  but  they  were  honored 
and  respected.  They  were  considered  as  the  intellectual  com- 
panion of  the  husband,  as  helper  in  the  daily  life,  and  as 
partaker  in  the  religious  duties.  They  attended  the  courts 
and  assemblies  and  public  entertainments,  being  permitted  to 
appear  freely  and  openly  on  public  occasions.  The  change 
took  place  when  they  were  conquered  by  the  Moslems,  from 
whom  the  custom  of  the  exclusion  of  women  was  learned  by 
the  Hindus  or  was  thrust  upon  them. 

The  Code  of  Manu  some  three  centuries  before  Christ  set 
the  status  of  woman  thus,  "During  her  childhood  a  woman 
depends  on  her  father;  during  her  youth,  on  her  husband; 
her  husband  being  dead,  on  her  sons;  if  she  has  no  sons,  on 
the  near  relatives  of  her  husband ;  or  if  in  default  of  them,  on 
those  of  her  father;  if  she  has  no  paternal  relatives,  on  the 

85 


86  The  Historical  Child 

sovereign.  A  woman  ought  never  to  have  her  own  way."  So 
it  is  no  wonder  that  the  wife  was  treated  by  the  husband  in 
the  harshest  manner  and  she  to  respond  with  the  greatest 
humility.  The  following  from  a  witness  of  a  hundred  or  more 
years  ago,  portrays  some  of  the  relations  which  women  bore 
to  the  opposite  sex: 

"The  women,  on  the  other  hand,  are  so  thoroughly  accus- 
tomed to  harsh  and  domineering  treatment  from  their  hus- 
bands that  they  would  be  quite  annoyed  if  the  husbands 
adopted  a  more  familiar  tone.  I  once  knew  a  native  lady  who 
complained  bitterly  that  her  husband  sometimes  affected  to 
be  devoted  to  her  in  public  and  allowed  himself  such  little 
familiarities  as  are  looked  upon  by  us  as  marks  of  affection. 
'Such  behavior,'  said  she,  'covers  me  with  shame  and  confu- 
sion. I  dare  not  show  myself  anywhere.  Did  anyone  ever 
see  such  bad  manners  amongst  people  of  our  caste?  Has 
he  become  a  Feringhi  (European),  and  does  he  take  me  for 
one  of  their  vile  women?' 

"As  a  rule  a  husband  addresses  his  wife  in  terms  which 
show  how  little  he  thinks  of  her.  Servant,  slave,  etc.,  and 
other  equal  flattering  appellations,  fall  quite  naturally  from 
his  lips. 

"A  woman,  on  the  other  hand,  never  addresses  her  hus- 
band except  in  terms  of  the  greatest  humility.  She  speaks 
to  him  as  7ny  master,  my  lord,  and  even  sometimes  my  god. 
In  her  awe  of  him  she  does  not  venture  to  call  him  by  his 
name ;  and  should  she  forget  herself  in  this  way  in  a  moment 
of  anger,  she  would  be  thought  a  very  low  class  of  person,  and 
would  lay  herself  open  to  personal  chastisement  from  her  of- 
fended spouse.  She  must  be  just  as  particular  in  speaking 
of  him  to  anyone  else ;  indeed,  the  Hindus  are  very  careful 
never  to  put  a  woman  under  the  necessity  of  mentioning  her 
husband  by  name.  If  by  chance  a  European,  who  is  unac- 
quainted with  this  point  of  etiquette,  obliges  her  to  do  so, 
he  will  see  her  blush  and  hide  her  face  behind  her  sari  and 
turn  away  without  answering,  smiling  at  the  same  time  with 
contemptuous  pity  at  such  ignorance. 

"But  if  women  enjoy  very  little  consideration  in  private 
life,  they  are  in  some  degree  compensated  by  the  respect  which 
is  paid  to  them  in  public.  They  do  not,  it  is  true,  receive 
those  insipid  compliments  which  we  have  agreed  to  consider 
polite ;  but  then,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  safe  from  the 
risk  of  insult.    A  Hindu  woman  can  go  anywhere  alone,  even 


The  CUld  in  Indm  87 

in  the  most  crowded  places,  and  she  need  never  fear  the 
impertinent  looks  and  jokes  of  idle  loungers.  This  appears 
to  me  to  be  really  remarkable  in  a  country  where  the  moral 
depravity  of  the  inhabitants  is  carried  to  such  lengths.  A 
house  inhabited  solely  by  women  is  a  sanctuary  which  the 
most  shameless  libertine  would  not  dream  of  violating.  To 
touch  a  respectable  woman  even  with  the  end  of  your  finger 
would  be  considered  highly  indecorous,  and  a  man  who  meets 
a  female  acquaintance  in  the  street  does  not  venture  to  stop 
and  speak  to  her."  ^ 

Courtesans  in  India,  as  in  Greece,  if  of  great  beauty  and 
accomplishments,  were  accorded  many  more  privileges  than 
the  other  women.  As  these  were  used  in  the  temples,  they 
were  permitted  to  learn  to  read  and  to  sing  and  to  dance, 
accomplishments  W'hich  a  respectable  woman  would  have  been 
ashamed  to  have  acknowledged  even  if  she  should  have  learned 
them. 

In  the  early  times,  during  the  Vedic  period,  it  would  seem 
that  the  girls  had  some  choice  in  the  selection  of  the  husband, 
and  yet  the  father  must  have  exercised  some  control  over  the 
affair.  But  later  the  selection  of  both  bride  and  groom  was 
fast  fixed  in  the  hands  of  the  parents,  who  arranged  every- 
thing. With  the  young  man's  family  the  purity  of  the  caste 
of  the  future  wife  was  the  greatest  concern,  beauty  and  per- 
sonal attraction  counting  nothing,  while  the  girl's  parents 
thought  more  of  the  fortune  of  the  bridegroom  to  be  and  of  the 
character  of  his  mother,  because  she  was  to  become  the  abso- 
lute mistress  of  the  young  wife.  Intermarriage  between 
castes  was  not  strictly  forbidden,  but  a  woman  could  not 
marry  a  man  of  lower  caste  without  losing  caste. 

"To  a  Hindu  marriage  is  the  most  important  and  most 
engrossing  event  of  his  life;  it  is  a  subject  of  endless  con- 
versation and  of  the  most  prolonged  preparations.  An  un- 
married man  is  looked  upon  as  having  no  social  status  and 
as  being  an  almost  useless  member  of  society.  He  is  not  con- 
sulted on  any  important  subject,  and  no  work  of  any  conse- 
quence may  be  given  to  him.  A  Hindu  who  becomes  a 
widower  finds  himself  in  almost  the  same  position  as  a  bach- 
elor, and  speedily  remarries. 

"Though  marriage  is  considered  the  natural  state  for  the 
generality  of  men,  those  who  from  pious  motives  remain  un- 
married are  looked  up  to  and  treated  with  the  utmost  re- 

*  Dubois,  Hindu  manners,  customs,  and  ceremonies,  339. 


88  The  Historical  Child 

spect.  But  it  is  only  those  persons  who  have  renounced  the 
world,  and  have  chosen  to  lead  a  life  of  contemplation,  who 
can  take  vows  of  celibacy.  In  any  other  case  marriage  is  the 
rule,  and  everj''  one  is  under  obligation  of  discharging  the 
great  debt  to  his  ancestors,  namely,  that  of  begetting  a  son. 

"But  this  privilege  men  possess  of  remaining  single,  and 
giving  themselves  up  to  a  life  of  contemplation,  is  not  shared 
by  women.  They  at  all  events  cannot,  under  any  circum- 
stances, take  vows  of  celibacy.  Subjected  on  all  sides  to  the 
moral  ascendancy  of  man,  the  very  idea  that  they  could  pos- 
sibly place  themselves  in  a  state  of  independence  and  out  of 
men's  power  is  not  allowed  to  cross  their  minds.  The  opin- 
ion is  firmly  established  throughout  the  whole  of  India,  that 
women  were  only  created  for  the  propagation  of  the  species, 
and  to  satisfy  men's  desires.  All  women  therefore  are  obliged 
to  marry,  and  marriages  are  carefully  arranged  before  they 
arrive  at  a  marriageable  age."  ^ 

There  were  eight  kinds  of  marriages  described  in  the  law, 
the  Institutes  of  Manu:  "Of  which  one  half  are  honorable, 
and  differ  from  one  another  only  in  some  minute-  circum- 
stances; in  the  fifth,  the  bridegroom  bestows  gifts  upon  the 
bride,  her  father,  and  paternal  kinsman;  the  last  three  are 
rather  species  of  unlawful  connection,  than  forms  of  nuptial 
contract;  one  being  voluntary  and  by  mutual  consent;  the 
other  forcible  when  a  woman  is  seized,  'while  she  w'ceps  and 
calls  for  assistance,  after  her  kinsmen  and  friends  have  been 
slain  in  battle';  the  last,  'when  the  damsel  is  sleeping,  or 
flushed  with  strong  liquor,  or  disordered  in  her  intellect. ' '  ^ 

The  following  verses  from  the  Eig  Veda,  a  very  ancient 
Aryan  collection  of  hymns,  belonging  to  the  Hindus,  give  the 
ceremony  of  marriage  in  those  olden  times: 

"21.  0  Visvavasu!  (god  of  marriage),  arise  from  this 
place,  for  the  marriage  of  this  girl  is  over.  AVe  extol  Vis- 
vavasu with  hymns  and  prostrations.  Go  to  some  other 
maiden  who  is  still  in  her  father's  house  and  has  attained  the 
signs  of  the  age  of  marriage.  She  will  be  your  share,  know 
of  her. 

"22.  0  Visvavasu !  arise  from  this  place.  "We  worship 
thee,  bending  in  adoration.  Go  to  an  unmarried  maiden  whose 

'  Dubois,  Hindu  manners,  205. 
» Mills,  British  India,  I,  308. 


The  Child  in  India  89 

person  is  well  developed;  make  her  a  wife  and  unite  her  to 
a  husband, 

"23.  Let  the  paths  by  which  our  friends  go  in  quest  of  a 
maiden  for  marriage  be  easy  and  free  of  thorns.  May 
Aryaman  and  Bhaga  lead  us  well.  0  gods!  may  the  hus- 
band and  wife  be  well  united. 

"24.  O  maiden !  the  graceful  sun  had  fastened  thee  with 
ties  (of  maidenhood),  we  release  thee  now  of  those  ties.  We 
place  thee  with  thy  husband  in  a  place  which  is  the  home  of 
truth  and  the  abode  of  righteous  actions. 

"25.  We  release  this  maiden  from  this  place  (her  father's 
house),  but  not  from  the  other  place  (her  husband's  house). 
We  unite  her  well  with  the  other  place.  O  Indra!  may  she 
be  fortunate  and  the  mother  of  worthy  sons. 

"26.  May  Pushan  lead  thee  by  the  hand  from  this  place. 
May  the  two  Asvins  lead  thee  in  a  chariot.  Go  to  thy  (hus- 
band's) house  and  be  the  mistress  of  the  house.  Be  the 
mistress  of  all,  and  exercise  thine  authority  over  all  in  that 
house. 

"27.  Let  children  be  born  unto  thee,  and  blessings  attend 
thee  here.  Perform  the  duties  of  thy  household  with  care. 
Unite  thy  person  with  the  person  of  this  thy  husband ;  exer- 
cise thy  authority  in  this  thy  house  until  old  age. 

"40.  First  Soma  accepts  thee;  then  Gandharva  accepts 
thee ;  Agni  is  thy  third  lord ;  the  son  of  man  is  the  fourth  to 
accept  thee. 

"41.  Soma  bestowed  this  maiden  to  Gandharva,  Gan- 
dharva gave  her  to  Agni,  Agni  has  given  her  to  me  with 
wealth  and  progeny. 

"42.  O  bridegroom  and  bride!  do  ye  remain  here  to- 
gether; do  not  be  separated.  Enjoy  food  of  various  kinds, 
remain  in  your  own  home,  and  enjoy  happiness  in  company 
of  your  children  and  grandchildren. 

"43.  (The  bride  and  bridegroom  say),  May  Prajapati  be- 
stow on  us  children;  may  Aryaman  keep  us  united  till  old 
age.  (Address  to  the  bride),  0  bride!  Enter  with  auspic- 
ious signs  the  home  of  thy  husband.  Do  good  to  our  male 
serA'^ants  and  our  female  servants,  and  to  our  cattle. 

' '  44.  Be  thine  eyes  free  from  anger ;  minister  to  the  hap- 
piness of  thy  husband ;  do  good  to  our  cattle.  May  thy  mind 
be  cheerful;  and  may  thy  beauty  be  bright.  Be  the  mother 
of  heroic  sons,  and  be  devoted  to  the  gods.  Do  good  to  our 
male  servants  and  our  female  servants,  and  to  our  cattle. 


90  The  Historical  Child 

"45.  0  Indra!  make  this  woman  fortunate  and  the  mother 
of  worthy  sons.  Let  ten  sons  be  bom  of  her,  so  that  there 
may  be  eleven  men  in  the  family  with  the  husband. 

"46.  Address  to  the  bride),  May  thou  have  influence 
over  thy  father-in-law,  and  over  thy  mother-in-law,  and  be 
as  a  queen  over  thy  sister-in-law  and  brother-in-law. 

"47.  (The  bridegroom  and  bride  say),  May  all  the  gods 
unite  our  hearts ;  may  Matarisvan  and  Dhatri  and  the  goddess 
of  speech  unite  us  together."  * 

Dubois  goes  quite  fully  into  the  ceremonies  and  functions 
of  a  Brahmin  marriage  of  his  time,  from  which  is  taken  the 
following  extract.^ 

There  were  four  different  ways  of  arranging  the  prelimi- 
naries of  a  marriage.  In  the  first  the  father  of  the  bride  re- 
fused the  sum  of  money  to  which  he  was  entitled  from  the 
young  man's  parents  and  he  bore  all  the  expenses  of  the 
wedding.  In  the  second  way  the  parents  of  both  parties 
agreed  to  share  all  the  expenses.  In  the  third  way  the  youth 's 
parents  bore  all  the  expenses  of  the  wedding  and  also  paid  a 
sum  of  money  to  the  father  for  his  daughter.  In  the  fourth 
method  the  girl's  parents  handed  her  over  to  the  young 
man's  parents  to  do  with  her  what  they  would.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  the  first  way  was  the  most  honored  and  re- 
spected and  the  last  was  most  mortifying  to  the  girl's  parents 
and  it  was  used  by  none  but  the  very  poorest. 

As  soon  as  the  parents  of  a  young  man  had  discovered  a 
suitable  girl,  when  the  auguries  were  favorable,  they  pro- 
vided themselves  with  presents  and  went  and  formally  asked 
for  her.  Then  the  parents  of  the  girl,  at  a  favorable  moment, 
gave  their  consent  and  accepted  the  presents.  Then  the  priest 
who  presided  at  public  and  private  ceremonies  fixed  on  a 
lucky  day  and  great  preparations  were  made.  The  wedding 
garments  were  prepared,  the  stores  for  feasts  and  for  presents 
were  got  together,  and  all  the  many  other  things  needed.  A 
canopy  was  erected  and  all  the  relatives  and  friends  invited. 

The  marriage  ceremony  lasted  for  five  days.  The  first 
day  was  the  great  day,  as  it  was  the  day  on  which  the  most 
important  and  solemn  ceremonies  took  place.  The  gods  and 
the  ancestors  and  other  divinities  were  invited  to  be  present. 
Then  a  number  of  rites  and  ceremonies  were  performed,  in 
which  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  the  parents,  and  guests  par- 

*  Dutt,  Civilization  in  ancient  India,  I,  69. 
'Dubois,  Hindu  manners,  214,  et  seq. 


The  Child  in  India  91 

took.  Near  the  close  of  these  ceremonies  the  husband  fastened 
round  the  neck  of  the  young  wife  the  tali,  the  little  gold 
ornament  which  all  married  women  wore  round  their  necks, 
and  which  performed  by  the  husband  showed  that  henceforth 
the  woman  was  to  be  his  property.  The  day  was  ended  with 
a  specially  magnificent  feast. 

Amongst  the  ceremonies  of  the  second  day  was  the  placing 
of  an  ornament,  covered  with  gold-leaf  or  gold  paper  and  en- 
twined with  flowers,  on  the  forehead  of  both  husband  and  wife 
to  avert  the  effects  of  the  evil  eye,  the  spell  which  is  cast  by 
the  looks  of  jealous  or  ill-disposed  people.  On  the  third 
day  the  w^ife  joined  in  the  sacrifice  offered  by  the  husband, 
the  only  occasion  on  which  a  woman  could  take  an  active 
part  in  any  of  the  sacrifices.  The  only  remarkable  ceremony 
on  the  fourth  day  was  that  the  newly  married  couple  rubbed 
each  other's  legs  three  times  with  powdered  saffron,  of  which 
Dubois  did  not  understand  the  meaning  and  fancied  its  only 
object  was  to  kill  time,  just  as  Europeans  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances would  spend  their  time  in  drinking.  The  fifth 
day  was  chiefly  occupied  in  dismissing  the  gods  and  the  an- 
cestors and  the  other  divinities  that  had  been  invited  to  the 
feast.  Then  followed  the  distribution  of  presents.  The 
festivity  ended  with  a  solemn  procession  through  the  streets, 
which  generally  took  place  at  night  by  torchlight  in  the  midst 
of  squibs  and  fireworks  of  all  kinds. 

A  girl's  lot  after  marriage  must  have  been  dreadful  in 
many  cases,  as  she  became  a  servant  to  the  mother  of  her 
husband,  who  too  often  tried  in  every  way  to  make  the  young 
girl  miserable.  In  her  husband's  home  the  young  wife  occu- 
pied the  back  of  the  house  with  the  other  women  and  she 
must  take  the  humblest  place  in  this  apartment  for  women. 
The  little  girl  was  scolded  quite  a  great  deal  and  received  no, 
or  but  little,  praise.  "I  have  several  times  seen  young 
wives  shamefully  beaten  by  beastly  young  husbands  who 
cherished  no  natural  love  for  them.  ...  A  child  of  thir- 
teen was  cruelly  beaten  by  her  husband  in  my  presence  for 
telling  the  simple  truth,  that  she  did  not  like  so  well  to  be 
in  his  house  as  at  her  home. ' '  ®  Yet,  there  are  here  and  there 
bright  spots  in  this  dark  home  life. 

Polygamy  was  practiced  in  ancient  India,  and  even  down  to 
later  times,  as  was  true  among  many  other  ancient  nations, 
but  as  a  rule  it  was  confined  to  kings  and  wealthy  lords.    It 

"Eamabai,  The  high-caste  Hindu  woman,  47. 


92  The  Historical  Child 

was  not  looked  upon  with  great  favor.  A  person  of  in- 
ferior rank  was  not  allowed  to  have  more  than  one  wife,  ex- 
cept in  case  his  wife  was  barren  or  had  only  borne  female 
children,  but  before  he  could  contract  a  second  marriage  he 
had  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  first  wife. 

"Women  in  India  have  ever  been  remarkable  for  their 
faithfulness  and  their  duteous  affection  towards  their  hus- 
bands, and  female  unfaithfulness  is  comparatively  rare."' 
Adultery  was  looked  upon  with  the  greatest  detestation  in 
India.  Yet  the  heinousness  of  the  crime  was  regulated  by  the 
caste  of  the  offender,  for  a  man  of  high  caste  committing 
adultery  with  a  woman  of  low  caste  was  by  no  means  so 
severely  punished  as  was  a  man  of  low  caste  with  a  woman 
of  high  caste.  In  case  the  man  was  a  Sudra  and  the  woman 
of  one  of  the  three  higher  castes  he  suffered  capital  punish- 
ment, but  as  on  no  account  was  a  Brahmin  to  be  punished 
with  death,  this  offence  could  not  bring  it  to  him. 

"Although  no  law  has  ever  said  so,  the  popular  belief 
is  that  a  woman  can  have  no  salvation  unless  she  be  formally 
married."  ^  Perhaps  for  this  belief  parents  became  extremely 
anxious  when  their  daughters  were  over  eight  or  nine  years 
of  age  and  were  unsought  in  marriage.  This  was  so  strong 
it  frequently  happened  that  poor  parents  feeling  that  their 
daughters  must  be  married  would  marry  girls  of  eight  or  nine 
to  men  of  sixty  or  seventy.  In  the  early  times  child  mar- 
riages were  unknown,  but  later  boys  among  the  Brahmins 
married  at  about  sixteen  years  of  age  and  girls  generally  at 
five  or  seven  or,  at  the  utmost,  nine  years  of  age.  One  author 
states  that  among  the  Brahmins,  if  any  girl  remained  unmar- 
ried until  she  was  eleven  years  old  the  family  was  suspended 
from   caste.^ 

In  early  times  in  India,  widows  married  and  men  belonging 
to  one  caste  married  widows  of  other  castes.  ' '  A  droll  story 
is  told  of  the  daughter  of  a  householder  of  Malava  who  mar- 
ried eleven  husbands  successively;  and  on  the  death  of  the 
eleventh  husband  the  plucky  widow  would  probably  have 
welcomed  a  twelfth,  but  'even  the  stones  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing at  her, '  so  she  took  to  the  life  of  an  ascetic. ' '  ^°  But  Manu 
laid  down  that  a  widow  should  never  even  mention  the  name  of 

'Dutt,  Civilization  in  ancient  India,  I,  172. 
*  Ramabai,    High-caste    Hindu    woman,    34. 
•Allen,  India,  459. 
"Dutt,  op.  cit.,  II,  308. 


The  Child  in  India  93 

another  man  after  her  husband  had  died,  and  that  a  second 
husband  was  nowhere  prescribed  for  virtuous  women.  A 
widower,  whatever  his  age  might  be,  and  to  whatever  caste 
he  might  belong,  could  marry  again;  but  a  woman  of  the 
Brahminical  caste,  whether  she  ever  lived  with  her  husband 
or  not,  was  not  allowed  again  to  enter  the  married  state.  Sad 
was  the  state  of  these  widows,  for  they  were  cast  out  of  so- 
ciety, but  however  despised  they  might  have  been,  if  one 
remarried  her  lot  became  even  worse,  for  she  was  shunned  ab- 
solutely by  every  honest  and  respectable  person.  "I  once 
witnessed  amongst  the  Gollavarus,  or  shepherds,  an  instance 
of  even  greater  severity.  A  marriage  had  been  arranged,  and, 
in  the  presence  of  the  family  concerned,  certain  ceremonies 
which  were  equivalent  to  betrothal  amongst  ourselves  had 
taken  place.  Before  the  actual  celebration  of  the  marriage, 
which  was  fixed  for  a  considerable  time  afterwards,  the  bride- 
groom died.  The  parents  of  the  girl,  who  was  very  young  and 
pretty,  thereupon  married  her  to  another  man.  This  was  in 
direct  violation  of  the  custom  of  the  caste,  which  condemns 
to  perpetual  widowhood  girls  thus  betrothed,  even  when,  as 
in  this  case,  the  future  bridegroom  dies  before  marriage  has 
been  consummated.  The  consequence  was  that  all  the  per- 
sons who  had  taken  part  in  the  second  ceremony  were  ex- 
pelled from  caste,  and  nobody  would  contract  marriage  or 
have  any  intercourse  whatever  with  them.  A  long  time  after- 
wards I  met  several  of  them,  well  advanced  in  age,  who  had 
been  for  this  reason  alone  unable  to  obtain  husbands  or 
wives,  as  the  case  might  be."^^ 

Suttee  is  the  name  given  to  the  act  of  a  woman  immolating 
herself  upon  the  funeral  pile  with  the  body  of  her  deceased 
husband.  This  was  not  practiced  in  the  early  times  of  India, 
yet  it  was  quite  old  as  it  was  known  from  the  time  of  Alex- 
ander, and  even  earlier.  It  continued  down  till  the  nineteenth 
century,  when  a  noted  Hindu,  Raja  Ram  Mohun  Roy,  got 
up  such  an  agitation  against  it  that  I^ord  William  Bentinck, 
Governor-General  of  India,  enacted  a  law  in  1829,  which  pro- 
hibited suttee  within  British  dominion  and  made  all  assist- 
ance, aid,  or  participation  in  any  act  of  it  to  be  murder  and 
punishable  with  death.  But  it  did  not  fully  cease  till  near 
the  middle  of  the  century. 

"Dr.  Carey  appears  to  have  been  the  first  who  made  efforts 
to  ascertain  the  extent  of  this  practice  in  Bengal,  and  he 

"Dubois,  Hindu  manners,  39. 


94  The  Historical  Child 

found  that  the  number  of  widows  who  perished  in  this  way, 
within  30  miles  of  Calcutta,  in  1803,  was  438.  In  1817  the 
number  of  eases  officially  reported  to  the  magistrate  in  Bengal 
was  706,  In  1818  the  number  was  839,  thus  making  1,545  in 
two  years.  The  number  which  took  place  in  Bengal  from 
1815-1826,  or  for  12  years,  as  officially  reported  to  the  English 
magistrates,  was  7,154.  This  number  includes  only  those 
which  took  place  in  Bengal.  There  was  no  means  of  ascer- 
taining the  whole  number  of  eases  in  the  country.  Mr.  W, 
Ward  estimated  them  at  3,000  annually.  "^^  The  practice 
was  chiefly  among  kings,  princes.  Brahmins,  and  the  wealthy 
and  this  made  it  all  the  more  horrid,  because  these  were  the 
men  who  practiced  polygamy,  and  several  of  the  wives  were 
burned  with  the  husband's  dead  body.  Instances  are  re- 
corded of  5,  10,  15,  25,  and  even  more,  who  thus  sacrificed 
themselves.  Everything  was  done  to  get  a  woman  to  sacrifice 
herself  and  if  after  mature  deliberation  she  decided  to  do  so 
there  was  no  turning  back  for  her.  For  if  she  did  not  go  on 
the  funeral  pyre  of  her  otvti  free  will  she  would  be  dragged 
to  it  by  force.    This  is  well  portrayed  in  the  following : 

"In  1794,  in  a  village  of  the  Tanjore  district  called  Pu- 
dupettah,  there  died  a  man  of  some  importance  belonging  to 
the  Komatty  (Vaisya)  caste.  His  wife,  aged  about  thirty 
years,  announced  her  intention  of  accompanying  her  deceased 
husband  to  the  funeral  pj-re.  The  news  having  rapidly 
spread  abroad,  a  large  concourse  of  people  flocked  together 
from  all  quarters  to  witness  the  spectacle.  When  everything 
was  ready  for  the  ceremony,  and  the  widow  had  been  richly 
clothed  and  adorned,  the  bearers  stepped  forward  to  remove 
the  body  of  the  deceased,  which  was  placed  in  a  sort  of  shrine, 
ornamented  with  costly  stuffs,  garlands  of  flowers,  green  foli- 
age, etc.,  the  corpse  being  seated  in  it  with  crossed  legs,  cov- 
ered with  jewels  and  clothed  in  the  richest  attire,  and  the 
mouth  filled  with  betel.  Immediately  after  the  funeral  car 
followed  the  widow,  borne  in  a  richly  decorated  palanquin. 
On  the  way  to  the  burning-ground  she  was  escorted  by  an 
immense  crowd  of  eager  sight-seers,  lifting  their  hands  to- 
wards her  in  token  of  admiration,  and  rending  the  air  with 
cries  of  joy.  She  was  looked  upon  as  already  translated  to 
the  paradise  of  Indra,  and  they  seemed  to  envy  her  happy 
lot. 

"While  the  funeral  procession  moved  slowly  along,  the 

"Allen,  India,  417. 


The  Child  in  India  95 

spectators,  especially  the  women,  tried  to  draw  near  to  her 
to  congratulate  her  on  her  good  fortune,  at  the  same  time 
expecting  that,  in  virtue  of  the  gift  of  prescience  which  such 
a  meritorious  attachment  must  confer  upon  her,  she  would  be 
pleased  to  predict  the  happy  things  that  might  befall  them 
here  below.  With  gracious  and  amiable  mien  she  declared  to 
one  that  she  would  long  enjoy  the  favors  of  fortune ;  to 
another,  that  she  would  be  the  mother  of  numerous  children 
who  would  prosper  in  the  world;  to  a  third,  that  she  would 
live  long  and  happily  with  a  husband  who  would  love  and 
cherish  her;  to  a  fourth,  that  her  family  was  destined  to 
attain  much  honor  and  dignity;  and  so  forth.  She  then  dis- 
tributed among  them  leaves  of  betel;  and  the  extraordinary 
eagerness  with  which  they  were  received  clearly  proved  that 
great  value  was  attached  to  them  as  relics.  Beaming  with 
joy,  these  women  then  withdrew,  each  in  the  full  hope  that 
the  promised  blessings  of  wealth  and  happiness  would  be 
showered  on  her  and  hers. 

"During  the  whole  procession,  which  was  a  very  long  one, 
the  widow  preserved  a  calm  demeanor.  Her  looks  were 
serene,  even  smiling;  but  when  she  reached  the  fatal  place 
where  she  was  to  yield  up  her  life  in  so  ghastly  a  manner, 
it  was  observed  that  her  firmness  suddenly  gave  way. 
Plunged,  as  it  were,  in  gloomy  thought,  she  seemed  to  pay 
no  attention  whatever  to  what  was  passing  around  her.  Her 
looks  became  wildly  fixed  upon  the  pile.  Her  face  grew 
deadly  pale.  Her  very  limbs  were  in  a  con^oilsive  tremor. 
Her  drawn  features  and  haggard  face  betrayed  the  fright 
that  had  seized  her,  while  a  sudden  weakening  of  her  senses 
betokened  that  she  was  ready  to  faint  away. 

"The  Brahmins  who  conducted  the  ceremony,  and  also 
her  near  relatives,  ran  quickly  to  her,  endeavoring  to  keep 
up  her  courage  and  to  revive  her  drooping  spirits.  All  was 
of  no  effect.  The  unfortunate  woman,  bewildered  and  dis- 
tracted, turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  their  exhortations  and  pre- 
served a  deep  silence. 

' '  She  was  then  made  to  leave  the  palanquin,  and  as  she  was 
scarcely  able  to  walk,  her  people  helped  her  to  drag  herself 
to  a  pond  near  the  pyre.  She  plunged  into  the  water  with 
all  her  clothes  and  ornaments  on,  and  was  immediately  after- 
wards led  to  the  pyre,  on  which  the  body  of  her  husband 
was  already  laid.  The  pyre  was  surrounded  by  Brahmins, 
each  with  a  lighted  torch  in  one  hand  and  a  bowl  of  ghee  in 


96  The  Historical  Child 

the  other.  Her  relatives  and  friends,  several  of  whom  were 
armed  with  muskets,  swords,  and  other  weapons,  stood  closely 
round  in  a  double  line,  and  seemed  to  await  impatiently  the 
end  of  this  shocking  tragedy.  This  armed  force,  they  told 
me,  was  intended  not  only  to  intimidate  the  unhappy  victim 
in  case  the  terror  of  her  approaching  death  might  induce 
her  to  run  away,  but  also  to  overawe  any  persons  who  might 
be  moved  by  a  natural  feeling  of  compassion  and  sympathy, 
and  so  tempted  to  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  the  homi- 
cidal sacrifice. 

''At  length,  the  purohita  Brahmin  gave  the  fatal  signal. 
The  poor  widow  was  instantly  divested  of  all  her  jewels,  and 
dragged,  more  dead  than  alive,  to  the  pyre.  There  she  was 
obliged,  according  to  custom,  to  walk  three  times  round  the 
pile,  two  of  her  nearest  relatives  supporting  her  by  the  arms. 
She  accomplished  the  first  round  with  tottering  steps ;  during 
the  second  her  strength  wholly  forsook  her,  and  she  fainted 
away  in  the  arms  of  her  conductors,  who  were  obliged  to 
complete  the  ceremony  by  dragging  her  through  the  third 
round.  Then,  at  last,  senseless  and  unconscious,  she  was  cast 
upon  the  corpse  of  her  husband.  At  that  moment  the  air  re- 
sounded with  noisy  acclamations.  The  Brahmins,  emptying 
the  contents  of  their  vessels  on  the  dry  wood,  applied  their 
torches,  and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  whole  pile  was 
ablaze.  Three  times  was  the  unfortunate  woman  called  by 
her  name.    But,  alas!  she  made  no  answer."  ^^ 

Boys  and  Girls.  "A  son  is  the  most  coveted  of  all  blessings 
that  a  Hindu  craves,  for  it  is  hy  a  son's  birth  in  the  family 
that  the  father  is  redeemed."  ^*  This  accounted  for  the  dif- 
ference in  the  feeling  for  a  boy  and  for  a  girl.  So  strong  was 
the  desire  for  a  son  that  sonless  mothers  were  filled  with  great 
care  and  anxiety  lest  the  child  should  not  be  a  boy.  There  is,, 
perhaps,  nothing  which  will  so  weaken  mankind  as  the  life 
of  the  mothers  before  the  birth  of  the  children,  so  what  a 
great  influence  upon  the  Hindu  race  must  have  been  this  con- 
stant worry  of  women  who  were  to  become  mothers.  "Well 
might  the  wives  worry,  for  according  to  Manu,  a  wife  who 
had  all  daughters  and  no  sons  could  be  replaced  with  another 
wife  in  the  eleventh  year  of  marriage. 

This  was  also  a  burden  to  a  girl  born  into  the  family.  If 
a  boy  died  soon  after  the  birth  of  a  girl,  or  if  a  girl  was 

"  Dubois,  Hindu  manners,  361,  et  seq. 

"  Eamabai,  High-caste  Hindu  woman,   12. 


The  Child  in  India  97 

bom  soon  after  her  brother's  death,  she  was  considered  to  be 
the  cause  of  such  death  and  was  accordingly  treated  very 
cruelly.  This  also  had  a  bad  intluenee  upon  the  boys,  as  they 
soon  learned  to  know  of  their  superior  being  and  learned  to 
despise  and  to  mistreat  their  sisters  and  later  all  womankind. 
After  several  sons  had  come  into  a  family  a  daughter  might 
not  be  undesirable  and  in  some  cases  really  wished  for.  Such 
a  daughter  was  kindly  and  even  affectionately  treated. 

The  following  is  a  striking  passage.  "Young  children  will 
obey  their  father,  because  they  fear  punishment  if  they  do 
not ;  but  they  will  overwhelm  their  mother  with  abuse,  and 
will  insult  her  grossly,  even  going  so  far  at  times  as  to  strike 
her.  When  they  grow  older  they  fail  to  respect  even  their 
father,  and  it  often  happens  that  he  is  obliged  to  give  way 
to  his  sons,  who  have  made  themselves  masters  of  the  house. 
Strange  to  say,  nowhere  are  parents  fonder  of  their  children 
than  they  are  in  India ;  but  this  fondness  usually  degener- 
ates into  weakness.  If  the  children  are  good,  they  are  ex- 
travagantly praised;  if  they  are  naughty,  their  parents  show 
the  utmost  ingenuity  in  finding  excuses  for  them.  The  mild 
punishments  that  their  naughtiness  or  disobedience  brings 
down  upon  them  invariably  err  on  the  side  of  leniency.  The 
parents  do  not  dare  to  whip  them  or  scold  them  sharply,  or 
even  inflict  any  punishment  that  they  would  be  likely  to  feel. 
The  father  and  mother  content  themselves  with  making  feeble 
remonstrances  about  their  bad  behavior,  and  if  these  produce 
no  effect,  they  leave  them  to  grow  up  in  their  evil  ways.  The 
few  sensible  parents  M^ho  show  more  firmness  and  severity 
with  their  children  are  met  with  a  show  of  temper.  Sons  do 
not  hesitate  to  resist  the  parental  authority  and  threaten  to 
escape  it  by  running  away  and  living  elsewhere.  This 
threat  rarely  fails  to  produce  the  desired  effect;  the  parents' 
severity  melts  away  and  they  become  passive  witnesses  of  the 
disorderly  conduct  of  their  sons,  who,  encouraged  by  this  first 
victory,  end  by  becoming  absolute  masters  of  the  house.  One 
must,  however,  do  them  the  justice  to  say  that,  after  having 
thus  gained  the  mastery  over  their  parents,  they  take  great 
care  of  them,  as  a  general  rule,  and  see  that  they  want  for 
nothing  in  their  old  age.  But  I  fancy  that  in  acting  thus 
they  are  moved  less  by  filial  affection  than  by  considerations  of 
what  the  world  will  say. ' '  ^^ 

Infanticide.     It  is  not  strange  that  under  such  beliefs  and 

"Dubois,  Hindu  manners,  307. 


98  The  Historical  Child 

treatment  as  mentioned  above  that  many  female  children 
should  have  been  destroyed.  Fathers  were  willing  to  destroy 
their  girls  because  of  so  little  value  and  mothers  because  of 
the  saving  to  the  girls  the  burdens  which  woman  had  to  en- 
dure. Also  the  Hindus  were  very  superstitious  and  a  child 
born  under  an  unlucky  star  was  not  only  destined,  according 
to  common  belief,  to  all  sorts  of  troubles  and  accidents  during 
his  life,  but  he  would  also  bring  bad  luck  to  his  parents  and 
relatives.  Parents  convinced  that  their  child  would  bring 
bad  luck,  because  of  having  been  born  on  an  unlucky  day, 
would  abandon  the  child  at  some  place  along  the  road,  and 
even  some  would  strangle  and  drown  such  babies. 

Dress.  All  classes  of  women  in  India  were  very  fond  of 
ornaments.  They  wore  jewels  and  rings  in  the  ears  and  nose, 
rings  on  the  fingers  and  toes,  chains  on  the  neck,  and  brace- 
lets on  the  arms,  wrists,  and  ankles.  It  was  no  uncommon 
sight  to  see  a  woman  decked  out  in  all  her  jewels,  drawing 
water,  grinding  rice,  cooking  food,  and  attending  to  all  the 
menial  domestic  occupations.  But  the  greatest  ornamenting 
was  on  the  occasion  of  marriages,  holidays,  and  other  festive 
times. 

The  women  not  only  profusely  ornamented  themselves,  but 
they  also  took  great  pains  and  manifested  much  pride  in 
ornamenting  their  children,  both  boys  and  girls.  Often  the 
small  children  would  have  but  little  clothing  on  but  they 
would  be  wearing  many  ornaments,  in  some  cases  when  all 
the  clothing  worn  by  the  child  would  not  exceed  in  value  one 
dollar  they  would  be  wearing  ornaments  worth  one  hundred 
dollars.  Children  were  frequently  robbed  and  even  murdered 
for  these  ornaments. 

The  dowry  given  with  the  girls  at  marriage  consisted  very 
greatly  of  the  ornaments.  What  the  girl  received  from  her 
husband's  people  or  from  her  home  was  clearly  set  forth  in 
writing  and  they  were  considered  her  own  personal  property. 
If  she  became  a  widow  she  claimed  all  such  things  as  her 
o%vn. 

Amusements.  The  amusements  of  the  Hindus  were  for  the 
most  part  of  the  sedentary  and  inactive  kind.  Yet  dancing 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  forms  but  they  did  not  dance 
themselves  but  had  hired  performers,  the  dancers  being 
young  women  supposed  to  be  courtesans,  and  for  the  most 
part  connected  with  the  temples.  There  were  feats  of  bodily 
agility  and  dexterity,  as  found  with  the  tumbler  and  the 


The  Child  in  India  99 

juggler.  They  were  fond  of  chess,  cards,  and  other  games  of 
chance.    Story-telling  was  a  favorite  diversion. 

Rites.  The  Hindu  performed  a  great  many  rites.  We  are 
concerned  here  only  with  the  domestic  ceremonies.  The 
most  important  of  the  Domestic  Ceremonies  were  Marriage, 
ceremonies  performed  during  pregnancy  of  wife,  birth  of 
child,  first  feeding  of  child,  tonsure,  initiation,  and  return 
from  school  on  the  completion  of  education. 

In  marriage  there  were  many  parts  to  the  ceremony,  all  of 
which  had  to  be  rigorously  observed.  During  pregnancy 
there  were  rites  to  secure  conception,  a  rite  to  cause  a  male 
child  to  be  born,  rites  to  insure  protection  to  the  child  in  the 
womb,  and  sometime  between  the  fourth  and  eighth  month 
was  the  ceremony  of  the  husband  affectionately  parting  the 
wife's  hair. 

On  the  birth  of  a  child  a  rite  was  performed  and  a  secret 
name  given  to  the  child,  known  only  to  the  parents.  The 
child  was  weaned  at  eight  months,  at  which  time  he  was  given 
his  first  solid  food,  and  an  appropriate  ceremony  went  with 
it.  At  one  year  another  rite  was  performed,  at  which  time 
the  child's  head  was  shaved,  leaving  such  hair  as  might 
be  desired  for  its  arrangement  as  was  the  custom  of  the 
family. 

The  ceremony  of  initiation,  or  the  giving  over  of  the  boy 
to  his  teacher  for  education,  was  a  very  important  affair,  par- 
ticipated in  by  the  boy  and  by  his  teacher.  After  he  had 
finished  his  education,  the  student  returned  home,  which  was 
the  occasion  for  another  important  ceremony,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  marriage  and  the  student  was  then  changed  into 
a  householder.  At  the  time  of  the  initiation,  the  triple  cord 
or  sacred  thread,  which  was  worn  by  the  three  upper  castes, 
was  bestowed  upon  the  boy.  The  age  of  the  boy  differed  at 
this  time  according  to  which  caste  he  belonged,  the  Brahmin 
boy  being  initiated  between  8  and  16,  the  Kshatriya  between 
11  and  22,  and  the  Vaisya  between  12  and  24. 

Adoption.  When  a  Hindu  had  no  sons,  because  of  his 
wife's  failure  to  bear  them  to  him  or  because  the  sons  borne 
to  him  had  all  died,  two  things  were  left  to  him  to  do,  to 
take  another  wife  or  to  adopt  a  son.  If  he  adopted  a  child 
it  was  generally  from  among  his  own  relatives  or  if  a  Brah- 
min, at  any  rate  from  his  own  caste.  He  might  adopt  a 
child  or  an  adult,  just  as  he  should  choose.  Girls  were 
adopted,  but  there  were  very  few  instances  of  such.     The 


100  TJie  Historical  Child 

adoption  was  an  event  of  importance  and  it  was  attended  with 
solemn  ceremonies. 

"The  adopted  son  renounces  wholly  and  forever  all  his 
claims  to  the  property  and  succession  of  his  natural  father, 
and  acquires  the  sole  right  to  the  heritage  of  his  father  by 
adoption.  The  latter  is  bound  to  bring  him  up,  to  feed  him, 
and  to  treat  him  as  his  own  son ;  to  have  the  ceremony  of 
upanayana,  or  the  triple  cord,  performed  for  him,  and  to 
see  him  married.  The  adopted  son,  in  his  turn,  is  obliged  to 
take  care  of  his  adoptive  father  in  his  old  age  and  in  sick- 
ness, just  as  if  he  were  his  natural  father,  and  to  preside  at 
his  obsequies.  On  the  death  of  his  adoptive  father  he  en- 
ters into  full  possession  of  his  inheritance- — assets  as  well  as 
liabilities.  Should  there  be  any  property  left,  he  enjoys  it; 
but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  debts,  he  is  bound  to  pay 
them.  He  is,  moreover,  by  his  adoption  admitted  into  the 
gothram  or  family  stock  of  the  adopter,  and  is  considered  to 
have  left  that  in  which  he  Was  born."  ^° 

Inheritance.  It  appears  that  the  property  was  divided  in 
earlier  times  equally  among  the  sons  upon  the  death  of  their 
father.  Yet  there  was  a  joint  system  where  all  lived  together 
and  the  eldest  son  supplied  the  place  of  the  father,  receiving 
all  the  property  and  then  caring  for  all  the  others  of  the 
family.  At  one  time  it  was  the  custom  for  a  daughter  to  get 
one-fourth  as  much  as  a  son,  and  at  another  time  each  son 
gave  to  the  daughter  one-fourth  of  his  share.  As  was  stated 
above,  when  a  son  was  adopted,  he  renounced  all  claim  to 
what  his  natural  father  might  leave  on  his  death,  while  he 
became  the  full  heir  of  his  adopted  feather  and  upon  his 
death  got  all  that  he  might  leave. 

The  right  of  inheritance  and  the  duty  of  presiding  at  a 
man's  obsequies  belonged  one  with  the  other.  When  a  man 
died  without  leaving  direct  descendants,  if  he  was  wealthy  a 
crowd  of  relatives  appeared  and  great  disputes  often  arose 
as  to  whom  belonged  the  honor  of  conducting  the  funeral 
rites.  But  if  he  was  poor,  and  burdened  with  debts,  then 
the  survivors  took  every  possible  care  to  disprove  near  rela- 
tionship. 

Education.  In  the  very  early  times  in  India,  royal  courts 
were  the  seats  of  learning,  and  the  learned  and  wise  of  all 
nations  were  welcomed  to  them.  Learned  priests  were  re- 
tained in  these  courts  not  only  to  perform  the  religious  duties 

"Dubois,  Hindu  manners,  369. 


The  Child  in  India  101 

but  also  for  the  purpose  of  imparting  learning.  On  great 
occasions  men  of  learning  from  all  parts  came  to  these  places 
and  discussions  were  held  on  ritualistic  matters  and  likewise 
on  such  subjects  as  the  human  mind,  the  destination  of  the 
soul  after  death,  the  future  world,  and  the  like.  Then  later 
appeared  Brahmiuic  settlements  called  Parishads,  answer- 
ing to  the  Universities  of  Europe.  These  were  at  first,  per- 
haps, conducted  by  three  Brahmins  who  knew  the  Vedas, 
but  the  number  was  increased  up  to  twenty-one.  To  these 
places  men  of  the  Brahmin  caste  who  wished  to  become 
learned  could  go  and  receive  instruction  in  the  Vedas  and 
such  traditionary  law  and  astronomy  and  philosophy  as  was 
current.  Besides  these  Parishads,  there  were  private  schools, 
established  by  individual  teachers,  who  collected  about  them 
a  body  of  students.  Also  learned  Brahmins  in  their  old  age 
would  sometimes  retire  to  forests  and  gather  students  around 
them.  Later  great  schools  arose,  such  as  noted  by  Houen 
Tsang,  a  Chinese  traveler,  who  spent  several  years  in  India, 
in  the  seventh  century  after  Christ.  ' '  Our  traveler  now  came 
to  the  great  NALANDA  University,  if  we  may  call  it  by  that 
name.  The  monks  of  this  place,  to  the  number  of  several 
thousands,  were  men  of  the  highest  ability,  talent,  and  dis- 
tinction. 'The  countries  of  India  respect  them  and  follow 
them.  The  day  is  not  sufficient  for  asking  and  answering  pro- 
found questions.  From  morning  till  night  they  engage  in 
discussion ;  the  old  and  the  young  mutually  help  one  another. 
Those  who  cannot  discuss  questions  out  of  the  Tripitaka  are 
little  esteemed,  and  are  obliged  to  hide  themselves  for  shame. 
Learned  men  from  different  cities,  on  this  account,  who  desire 
to  acquire  quickly  a  renown  in  discussion,  come  here  in  multi- 
tudes to  settle  their  doubts,  and  then  the  streams  (of  their 
wisdom)  spread  far  and  wide.  For  this  reason  some  persons 
usurp  the  name  (of  Nalanda  students)  and  in  going  to  and 
fro  receive  honor  in  consequence. '  "  ^^ 

The  Brahmins  themselves  received  the  highest  education 
possible.  This  consisted  in  the  memorizing  of  their  sacred 
books  and  a  study  of  the  philosophy  and  science  of  their 
times.  The  second  and  third  castes  seem  to  have  been  ac- 
corded the  right  to  study  what  the  first  caste  did,  yet  the 
third  caste  must  not  have  entered  much  into  this  but  have 
received  a  somewhat  meagre  education.  As  boys  followed  the 
occupation   of  their   parents,   they  would  receive  such  ele- 

"Dutt,  Civilization  in  ancient  India,  II,  148, 


102  The  Historical  Child 

mentary  instruction  as  was  needed  in  the  trade  or  work  to 
be  performed.  The  fourth  caste  had  no  need  for  learning  so 
they  received  none  except  in  the  duties  which  a  servant  was 
expected  to  perform. 

In  the  olden  times,  when  women  were  well  respected  and 
permitted  to  appear  in  public,  girls  were  taught  to  read  and 
to  write  and  were  given  other  education.  But  later  they 
received  no  education  further  than  the  training  for  domestic 
duties.  Education  was  not  needed  by  women,  as  a  woman 
must  at  all  times  depend  upon  some  man  for  her  knowledge 
of  things.  The  dancing  girls  received  some  education,  as  it 
was  considered  that  their  religious  duties  would  be  better 
performed  if  they  should  receive  some  intellectual  training. 

The  student  was  expected  to  be  obedient  and  respectful  to 
his  teacher  and  to  serve  him  in  every  way.  The  discipline 
of  the  school  was  very  mild.  Laurie  quotes  from  Manu: 
"Good  instruction  must  be  given  to  pupils  without  unpleas- 
ant sensations,  and  the  teacher  who  reverences  virtue  must 
use  sweet  and  gentle  words.  If  a  scholar  is  guilty  of  a 
fault,  his  instructor  may  punish  him  with  severe  words,  and 
threaten  that  on  the  next  offence  he  will  give  him  blows ;  and, 
if  the  fault  is  committed  in  cold  weather,  the  teacher  may 
dowse  him  with  cold  water. ' '  ^* 

"To  the  Hindus  we  are  indebted  for  our  numerical  nota- 
tion, often  wrongly  attributed  to  the  Arabs.  During  the 
fifth  century  after  Christ  they  invented  an  algebra  superior 
to  that  of  the  Greeks,  although  they  were  probably  assisted 
by  the  work  of  the  latter.  They  early  learned  how  to  calcu- 
late eclipses  and  find  the  location  of  planets  by  means  of 
tables.  They  seem  also  to  have  had  some  knowledge  of  medi- 
cine. By  300  A.  D.  they  possessed  a  treatise  on  rhetoric,  and 
had  worked  out  a  logic  two  centuries  before  the  time  of 
Aristotle;  while  in  the  science  of  grammar,  as  early  as  the 
fourth  century  b.  c,  they  were  so  far  advanced  that  the 
Western  world  first  learned  what  philogy  was  when  the  study 
of  Sanskrit  was  opened  to  Europe  a  hundred  or  more  years 
ago."^^ 

"Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,   176. 

**  Graves,  A  histor7  of  education,  Before  the  Middle  Ages,  86. 


The  Child  in  India  103 


LITERATURE 

1.  Allen,  David  0.,  India,  Ancient  and  modern. 

2.  Dubois,  Abbe  J.  A.,  Hindu  manners,  customs,  and  cere- 
monies. 

3.  Dutt,   Romesli   Chunder,   A  history  of  civilization   in 
ancient  India. 

4.  Graves,    Frank    Pierrepont,    A   history   of    education, 
Before  the  middle  ages. 

5.  Laurie,  S.  S.,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  educa- 
tion. 

6.  Letourneau,  Ch.,  The  evolution  of  marriage. 

7.  Mill,  James,  The  history  of  British  India. 

8.  Ragozin,  Zenai'de  A.,  Vedic  India. 

9.  Ramabai,  Pundita,  The  high-caste  Hindu  woman. 
10.     Rhys-Davids,  T.  W.,  Buddhist  India. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CHILD  IN  CHINA 

Women  and  Marriage.  The  Chinese  have  an  old  maxim 
that  ' '  a  woman  is  thrice  dependent ;  before  marriage,  on  her 
father ;  after  marriage,  on  her  husband ;  when  a  widow,  on 
her  son."  But  this  refers,  no  doubt,  principally  to  support 
and  subsistence,  as  the  mother  was  greatly  respected  and  had 
much  authority  for  even  "the  emperor  himself  performs  the 
ceremonies  of  the  ko-toiv  before  his  own  mother,  who  receives 
them  seated  on  a  throne. ' '  ^  This  power  of  the  mother  was 
carried  to  the  daughter-in-law,  for  after  marriage  the  girl 
was  no  longer  a  daughter  but  a  daughter-in-law  and  for  a 
considerable  part  of  her  life  she  was  under  the  absolute  con- 
trol of  a  mother-in-law.  Cruel  treatment  was  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception  and  the  only  way  out  was  through  suicide, 
and  suicide  and  attempts  at  suicide  on  the  part  of  wives  were 
so  frequent  as  to  cause  but  little  comment.  Christianity  re- 
quires a  man  to  leave  his  father  and  mother  and  cleave  to 
his  wife,  but  Confucianism  requires  a  man  to  cleave  to  his 
father  and  mother  and  compels  the  wife  to  do  the  same.  The 
sale  of  wives  and  children  was  not  uncommon.  "It  is  per- 
fectly well  known  to  those  acquainted  with  the  facts,  that 
during  several  recent  years  in  many  districts  stricken  with 
famine,  the  sale  of  women  and  children  was  conducted  as 
openly  as  that  of  mules  and  donkeys,  the  only  essential  differ- 
ence being  that  the  former  were  not  driven  to  market."  ^ 

Modesty  was  deemed  so  essential  in  the  female  character 
that  it  was  considered  indecorous  in  women  of  birth  and 
breeding  to  show  even  their  hands,  and  the  dresses  were  so 
made  that  the  long  sleeves  usually  covered  the  hands  when 
touching  or  moving  anything.  Yet  there  was  adultery,  which 
was  considered  a  most  heinous  offence,  but  instead  of  bring- 
ing the  offender  before  a  magistrate  many  cases  were  dealt 
with  in  private.     The  offender  would  be  attacked  by  a  band 

'Davis,  The  Chinese,  I,  264. 

*  Smith,  Chinese  characteristics,  205. 

104 


The  Child  in  China  105 

of  men  and  sometimes  his  legs  were  broken,  sometimes  his 
arms,  and  again  quicklime  would  be  rubbed  into  his  eyes, 
destroying  the  sight. 

The  laws  of  China  did  not  sanction  polygamy  but  they  did 
permit  concubinage.  The  man  could  have  but  one  wife,  who 
was  distinguished  by  a  proper  title,  while  the  concubines 
were  inferior  and  their  children  belonged  to  the  wife.  If 
the  wife  had  borne  sons,  it  was  considered  somewhat  discred- 
itable for  a  man  to  take  a  concubine,  and  if  he  did  and 
brought  her  into  the  same  home  with  his  wife  there  was 
usually  great  disturbance,  which  accorded  with  one  of  their 
proverbs,  That  nine  women  out  of  ten  are  jealous.  These 
concubines  were  generally  purchased  with  money  and  were 
from  the  lower  classes,  where  poverty  always  prevailed,  mak- 
ing occasion  for  the  selling  of  the  girls.  In  a  few  cases,  con- 
cubinage in  a  family  might  have  arisen  through  the  wife's 
desire  to  have  women  and  children  to  serve  her,  as  they 
would  come  under  her  control. 

There  were  seven  grounds  for  divorce  in  China,  being, 
barrenness,  adultery,  disobedience  to  the  husband's  parents, 
talkativeness,  thievery,  ill  temper,  and  malignant  disease.  But 
divorce  was  not  for  the  wife,  for  no  offense,  of  whatever  kind, 
on  the  part  of  the  husband,  gave  a  woman  any  right  to 
claim  a  divorce  from  him.  "Any  of  these,  however,  may  be 
set  aside  by  three  circumstances:  the  wife  having  mourned 
for  her  husband's  parents;  the  family  having  acquired  wealth 
since  the  marriage;  and  the  wife  being  without  parents  to 
receive  her  back. ' '  ^  The  family  of  the  woman  was  a  great 
factor  against  divorce,  not  only  on  account  of  the  unjust- 
ness  or  disgrace  attached  to  it  but  also  because  when  the 
woman  married  she  gave  up  her  home  and  no  provision  was 
made  for  her  further  support  and  especially  so  if  her  parents 
were  dead  as  the  property  was  divided  among  her  brothers 
and  she  would  be  looked  upon  as  an  alien.  Hence  a  husband 
would  not  be  allowed  to  divorce  his  wife,  except  for  a  most 
valid  cause. 

It  was  considered  disreputable  for  widows  to  remarry.  But 
this  was  not  true  of  a  widower  as  he  could  marry  whomever 
he  should  choose,  nor  did  he  have  to  wait  for  any  length  of 
time  for  the  ceremony  because  of  any  period  of  mourning  for 
his  first  wife.  If  the  widow  herself  should  be  unwilling  to 
marry,  the  law  would  protect  her  against  those  trying  to 

•Davis,  The  Chinese,  I,  269. 


106  The  Historical  Child 

make  her  do  so.  One  of  the  strong  motives  against  marrying 
again  was  that  as  long  as  she  remained  a  widow  she  would  be 
absolute  mistress  of  herself  and  her  children.  The  widow 
was  occasionally  sold  as  a  concubine  by  her  father-in-law,  but 
this  was  rare,  as  it  was  considered  a  great  degradation  and 
especially  as  she  would  be  separated  from  her  children. 

"A  reverse  view  of  matrimonial  experiences  is  suggested  by 
the  practice  of  wives  refusing  to  survive  their  husbands  and, 
like  the  victims  of  suttee  in  India,  putting  a  voluntary  end 
to  their  existence  rather  than  live  to  mourn  their  loss.  Such 
devotion  is  regarded  by  the  people  with  great  approbation, 
and  the  deed  of  suicide  is  generally  performed  in  public  with 
great  punctiliousness.  The  following  account  of  one  such 
suicide  at  Fuhehow  is  taken  from  the  Hong  Kong  Daily  Press 
of  January  20,  1861 : 

"  'A  few  days  since,'  says  the  writer,  'I  met  a  Chinese 
procession  passing  through  the  foreign  settlement,  escorting 
a  young  person  in  scarlet  and  gold  in  a  richly  decorated  chair ; 
the  object  of  which  I  found,  was  to  invite  the  public  to  come 
and  see  her  hang  herself,  a  step  she  had  resolved  to  take  in 
consequence  of  the  death  of  her  husband,  by  which  she  had 
been  left  a  childless  widow.  Both  being  orphans,  this  event 
had  severed  her  dearest  earthly  ties,  and  she  hoped  by  this 
sacrifice  to  secure  herself  eternal  happiness,  and  a  meeting 
with  her  husband  in  the  next  world.  Availing  myself  of  the 
general  invitation,  I  repaired  on  the  day  appointed  to  the 
indicated  spot.  We  had  scarcely  arrived,  when  the  same 
procession  was  seen  advancing  from  the  Joss  house  of  the 
woman's  native  village  towards  a  scaffold  or  gallows  erected 
in  an  adjacent  field,  and  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  natives 
of  both  sexes ;  the  female  portion,  attired  in  gayest  holiday 
costume,  was  very  numerous.  A  friend  and  I  obtained  a 
bench  for  a  consideration,  which,  being  placed  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  scaffold,  gave  us  a  good  view  of  the  perform- 
ance. The  procession  having  reached  the  foot  of  the  scaffold, 
the  lady  was  assisted  to  ascend  by  her  male  attendant,  and, 
after  having  welcomed  the  crowd,  partook  with  some  female 
relatives  of  a  repast  prepared  for  her  on  a  table  on  the  scaf- 
fold, which  she  appeared  to  appreciate  extremely.  A  child 
in  arms  was  then  placed  upon  the  table,  whom  she  caressed 
and  adorned  with  a  necklace  which  she  herself  had  worn. 
She  then  took  an  ornamental  basket  containing  rice,  herbs, 
and  flowers,  and,  whilst  scattering  them  amongst  the  crowd, 


The  Child  in  Chin-a  107 

delivered  a  short  address,  thanking  them  for  their  attendance, 
and  upholding  the  motives  which  urged  her  to  the  step  she 
was  about  to  take.  This  done,  a  salute  of  bombards  an- 
nounced the  arrival  of  the  time  for  the  performance  of  the 
last  act  of  her  existence,  when  a  delay  was  occasioned  by  the 
discovery  of  the  absence  of  a  reluctant  brother,  pending 
whose  arrival  let  me  describe  the  means  of  extermination. 
The  gallows  was  formed  by  an  upright  timber  on  each  side 
of  the  scaffold  supporting  a  stout  bamboo,  from  the  center  of 
which  was  suspended  a  loop  of  cord  with  a  small  wooden  ring 
embracing  both  parts  of  it,  which  was  covered  by  a  red  silk 
handkerchief,  the  whole  being  surrounded  by  an  awning. 

"  'The  missing  brother  having  been  induced  to  appear,  the 
widow  now  proceeded  to  mount  on  a  chair  placed  under  the 
noose,  and,  to  ascertain  its  fitness  for  her  reception,  delib- 
erately placed  her  head  in  it;  then,  withdrawing  her  head, 
she  waved  a  final  adieu  to  the  admiring  spectators,  and  com- 
mitted herself  to  its  embrace  for  the  last  time,  throwing  the 
red  handkerchief  over  her  head.  Her  supports  were  now 
about  to  be  withdrawn,  when  she  was  reminded  by  several 
voices  in  the  crowd  that  she  had  omitted  to  drawn  down  the 
ring  which  should  tighten  the  cord  round  her  neck;  smiling 
in  acknowledgment  of  the  reminder,  she  adjusted  the  ring, 
and,  motioning  away  her  supports,  was  left  hanging  in  mid- 
air— a  suicide.  With  extraordinary  self-possession  she  now 
placed  her  hands  before  her,  and  continued  to  perform  the 
manual  chin-chin  until  the  convulsions  of  strangulation  sep- 
arated them  and  she  was  dead.  The  body  was  left  hanging 
about  half  an  hour,  and  then  taken  down  by  her  male  at- 
tendants, one  of  whom  immediately  took  possession  of  the 
halter,  and  was  about  to  sever  it  for  the  purpose  of  appropri- 
ating a  portion,  when  a  struggle  ensued,  of  which  I  took  ad- 
vantage to  attach  myself  to  the  chair  in  which  the  body  was 
now  being  removed  to  the  Joss  house,  in  order  to  obtain  ocular 
proofs  of  her  demise.  Arrived  at  the  Joss  house  the  body  was 
placed  on  a  couch,  and  the  handkerchief  withdrawn  from  the 
face,  disclosed  unmistakable  proofs  of  death.  This  is  the 
third  instance  of  suicide  of  this  sort  within  as  many  weeks. 
The  authorities  are  quite  unable  to  prevent  it,  and  a  monu- 
ment is  invariably  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  devoted 
widow.'  "* 

The  most  essential  circumstance  in  a  respectable  family 

*  Douglass,  History  of  China,  130,  et  seq. 


108  The  Historical  Child 

alliance  was,  that  there  should  be  equality  of  rank  on  either 
side.  A  Chinese  lover  who  should  woo  a  young  lady  of  good 
family  would  visit  the  house  of  her  parents,  where  he  was 
expected  to  display  his  accomplishments,  especially  in  pen- 
manship. There  was  romance  and  poetry  in  the  wooing,  as 
may  be  shown  by  this  love  song,  which  has  been  sung  in 
Cathay  for  more  than  two  and  a  half  millenniums: 

"How  rises  the  moon  in  radiant  glory! 

And  thou  my  lady,  most  charming  and  sweetest 
Oh,  listen  kindly  to  love's  story! — 

Ah,  poor  my  heart  that  vainly  beatest! 

"How  rises  the  moon  in  cloudless  effulgence! 

And  thou  my  lady,  most  winsome  and  purest 
Oh,  grant  thy  lover  more  indulgence!  — 

Ah,  poor  my  heart  what  thou  endurest! 

"How  rises  the  moon  in  splendor  most  brightly! 

And  thou  my  lady,  loveliest,  fairest 
Wilt  never  for  my  love  requite  me? — 

Ah,  poor  my  heart  what  pain  thou  bearest !  " ' 

"At  the  present  day  marriage  is  probably  more  universal 
in  China  than  in  any  other  civilized  country  in  the  world. 
It  is  regarded  as  something  indispensable,  and  few  men  pass 
the  age  of  twenty  without  taking  a  wife.  Chinese  legislators 
have  at  all  times  encouraged  early  marriages  as  having  a 
pacifying  effect  upon  the  people.  A  man  who  has  given  hos- 
tages to  fortune  in  the  shape  of  wife  and  children  has  a 
greater  inducement  to  follow  the  paths  of  steady  industry, 
and  is  less  likely  to  throw  in  his  lot  with  brigands  and  rebels, 
than  a  man  who  has  but  himself  to  think  of,  and  is  without 
any  immediate  ties.  Besides  this  the  Chinese  believe,  in  com- 
mon with  the  ancient  Greeks,  that  the  shades  of  the  unburied 
wander  restlessly  about  without  gaining  admittance  into 
Hades ;  so  that  non-burial  came  to  be  considered  by  them  the 
most  deplorable  calamity  that  could  befall  one,  and  the  dis- 
charge of  the  last  service  a  most  holy  duty.  To  die,  therefore, 
without  leaving  behind  a  son  to  perform  the  burial  rites,  and 
to  offer  up  the  fixed  periodical  sacrifices  at  the  tomb,  is  one 
of  the  most  direful  fates  that  can  overtake  a  Chinaman,  and 
he  seeks  to  avoid  it  by  an  early  marriage."  ® 

The  two  young  people  to  a  betrothal  in  China  had  very 
little  to  do  with  it.     This  was  arranged  by  means  of  a  go- 

■Carus,  Chinese  life  and  customs,  81. 

•Douglass,  History  of  China,  115. 


The  Child  in  China  109 

between,  or  match-maker.  The  negotiations  generally  origi- 
nated with  the  family  of  the  boy  or  young  man.  A  card  was 
made  out  containing  data  of  the  candidate,  such  as  the  an- 
cestral name,  the  hour,  day,  month,  and  year  of  birth  of  the 
young  candidate.  At  some  time  in  the  proceedings  both 
parties  had  to  make  known  to  each  other  if  there  were  any 
bodily  or  constitutional  defect,  what  the  true  age  of  each 
was,  whether  born  of  a  wife  or  a  concubine,  and  whether  real 
offspring  or  only  adopted.  Provided  with  the  card,  the  go- 
between  went  to  the  other  family  and  stated  the  object  of 
the  visit.  The  parents  or  guardians  of  the  girl  would  then 
make  inquiries  about  the  other  family,  they  would  consult 
a  fortune-teller  to  ascertain  if  it  would  be  fitting  and  auspi- 
cious for  the  two  young  people  to  wed.  If  the  offer  was  ac- 
ceptable, then  the  go-between  was  furnished  with  a  similar 
card  about  the  girl  to  take  to  the  other  family.  If  within 
three  days  of  the  engagement  an  unlucky  thing  occurred,  as 
the  breaking  of  a  china  bowl  or  the  losing  of  some  article  in 
the  house,  circumstances  were  considered  to  be  sufficiently 
unlucky  to  warrant  the  instant  termination  of  the  negotia- 
tions. The  betrothal  was  not  binding  till  certain  cards  were 
interchanged  between  the  families.  The  outside  of  the  cards 
was  covered  with  red  paper,  on  which  was  pasted  a  paper 
dragon  for  the  one  and  on  the  other  a  paper  phoenix.  Each 
card  was  adorned  with  two  pieces  of  red  silk.  The  card  v/ith 
the  dragon  was  filled  out  with  particulars  relating  to  the  fam- 
ily of  the  boy  and  retained  by  the  girl 's  family,  while  the  one 
with  the  phoenix  had  particulars  of  the  girl's  family  and  it 
was  kept  by  the  family  of  the  boy.  At  the  time  of  the  ex- 
change of  cards  presents  were  sent.  For  the  girl  was  sent  a 
pair  of  silver  or  gold  wristlets  and  for  her  family  articles  of 
food,  as  pigs'  feet,  fruits,  fowls,  etc.  For  the  boys'  family 
were  sent  artificial  flowers,  bread,  cakes,  etc. 

As  usually  in  a  family  there  was  strict  separation  between 
the  males  and  females,  there  was  but  little  opportunity  for 
the  bride  and  groom  to  meet  one  another  and  often  they 
would  not  have  seen  one  another  till  the  day  of  the  wedding. 
The  difficulty  was  increased  after  betrothal,  for  it  was  con- 
sidered quite  improper  for  the  girl  to  be  actually  seen  by  the 
family  of  the  future  mother-in-law.  The  girl  had  to  maintain 
the  strictest  seclusion.  She  must  retire  to  the  inner  apart- 
ments when  friends  called  upon  her  parents,  and  when  going 
out  she  was  to  use  a  closed  sedan  chair.    For  this  reason,  most 


110  The  Historical  Child 

engagements  were  arranged  between  parties  not  living  in  the 
same  place. 

The  time  which  might  transpire  between  betrothal  and  mar- 
riage varied  from  a  month  or  two  to  eighteen  or  twenty- 
years,  depending  much  on  the  age  of  the  parties.  "There 
are  six  ceremonies  which  constitute  a  regular  marriage.  1. 
The  father  and  elder  brother  of  the  young  man  send  a  go- 
between  to  the  father  and  brother  of  the  girl,  to  enquire  her 
name  and  the  moment  of  her  birth,  that  the  horoscope  of  the 
two  may  be  examined,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  the  pro- 
posed alliance  will  be  a  happy  one.  2.  If  so,  the  boy's 
friends  send  the  go-between  back  to  make  an  offer  of  mar- 
riage. 3.  If  that  be  accepted,  the  second  party  is  again  re- 
quested to  put  their  assent  in  writing.  4.  Presents  are  then 
sent  to  the  girl's  parents  according  to  the  means  of  the  par- 
ties. 5.  The  go-between  requests  them  to  choose  a  lucky  day 
for  the  wedding;  and,  6,  the  preliminaries  are  concluded  by 
the  bridegroom  going  or  sending  a  party  of  his  friends  with 
music  to  bring  his  bride  to  his  own  house. "  ^ 

In  the  spring  was  considered  the  most  appropriate  time 
for  marriage,  and  the  month  in  which  the  peach-tree  blos- 
somed as  the  happiest  time.  The  following  poem  translated 
from  the  "Book  of  Odes,"  illustrates  this: 

"Sweet  child  of  spring,  the  garden's  queen, 

Yon  peach-tree  charms  the  roving  sight; 
Its  fragrant  leaves  how  richly  green. 

Its  blossoms  how  divinely  bright! 

"So  softly  shines  the  beauteous  bride, 

By  love  and  conscious  virtue  led, 
O'er  her  new  mansion  to  preside, 

And  placid  joys  around  her  spread."* 

Some  time  previous  to  the  day  fixed,  the  bridegroom  was 
invested  ceremoniously  with  a  dress  cap  or  bonnet,  and  he 
took  an  additional  name.  About  this  same  time  the  bride, 
whose  hair  had  hung  down  in  long  tresses,  had  it  done  up  in 
the  style  of  married  women  of  her  class  in  society.  Usually, 
the  day  before  the  wedding,  the  bride  tried  on  the  clothes  she 
was  to  wear  in  the  sedan  going  to  the  home  of  her  husband, 
and  what  she  was  to  wear  the  first  day  upon  her  arrival  at 
his  home.    This  was  an  occasion  of  great  interest  to  her  fam- 

*  Williams,  The  Middle  kingdom,  II,  54. 
'Davis,  The  Chinese,  I,  270. 


The  Child  in  China  111 

ily,  and  the  parents  invited  female  relatives  and  friends  to  a 
feast  that  they  might  view  the  clothing  and  help  to  have 
things  well  prepared  for  the  wedding-day. 

On  the  v/edding-day,  the  bridegroom  or  his  best  man  and 
friends  went  with  an  ornamented  sedan,  accompanied  with 
musicians,  to  the  home  of  the  bride.  When  evening  came  and 
the  stars  were  just  beginning  to  peep  out,  the  bride,  with  a 
thick  veil  over  her  head  and  completely  covering  her  features 
from  view,  entered  the  sedan  and  the  procession,  with  music 
and  lanterns,  took  its  way  to  the  home  of  the  bridegroom.  On 
reaching  his  residence,  the  bride  was  carried  into  the  house 
in  the  arms  of  matrons  and  lifted  over  a  pan  of  burning  char- 
coal on  the  threshold.  The  bridegroom  and  bride  seated 
themselves  side  by  side,  each  trying  to  sit  on  a  part  of  the 
dress  of  the  other,  as  it  was  considered  that  the  one  who  suc- 
ceeded in  so  doing  would  rule  the  household.  Then  the  bride 
returned  to  her  chamber  and  her  outer  garments  and  veil 
were  removed  and  she  was  dressed  in  her  wedding  finery  and 
then  with  her  husband  she  entered  upon  the  wedding-dinner. 
Often  this  was  the  first  time  in  the  husband's  life  to  behold 
the  features  of  his  wife.  He  eould  eat  what  he  chose  of  the 
good  things  but  she,  according  to  established  custom,  must 
not  take  a  particle,  but  must  sit  in  silence,  dignified  and 
composed.  The  door  of  the  room  was  left  open  and  about  it 
gathered  the  invited  guests,  the  parents  of  the  bridegroom 
and  his  relatives,  all  of  whom  scrutinized  the  bride  and  ob- 
served her  deportment  and  expressed  their  opinions  and 
criticisms.  The  cup  of  alliance  was  drunk  together  by  the 
young  couple  and  pledges  were  exchanged.  On  the  next  day 
they  worshipped  together  the  ancestral  gods  of  the  husband 
and  paid  their  respects  to  his  parents  and  relatives.  This 
was  the  wife 's  last  time  to  be  in  public  with  her  husband,  as 
husbands  were  never  seen  with  their  wives  in  public.  On 
the  third  day  after  the  wedding,  the  bride  paid  a  customary 
visit  to  her  own  parents. 

Whatever  else  might  have  been  included  in  the  marriage 
customs  in  China,  the  wedding-feast  was  the  main  feature 
of  the  occasion.  This  might  occur  upon  the  wedding-day  or 
at  some  later  time.  Wedding  and  funeral  feasts  would  be 
quite  impossible  were  it  not  for  the  "share"  system  which 
they  have  worked  out.  Each  guest,  or  each  family,  were  not 
only  expected  but  really  required  by  a  rigid  code  of  social 
etiquette  to  contribute  to  the  expense  of  the  occasion.      This 


112  The  Historical  Child 

was  sometimes  in  food  but  usually  in  money  and  there  was  a 
scale  according  to  which  every  one  knew  what  his  "share" 
should  be. 

"One  of  the  most  characteristic  methods  in  which  the 
Chinese  lack  of  sympathy  is  manifested  is  in  the  treatment 
which  brides  receive  on  their  wedding-day.  They  are  often 
very  young,  are  always  timid,  and  are  naturally  terror- 
stricken  at  being  suddenly  thrust  among  strangers.  Customs 
vary  widely,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  general  indifference  to 
the  feelings  of  the  poor  child  thus  exposed  to  the  public 
gaze.  In  some  places  it  is  allowable  for  any  one  who  chooses 
to  turn  back  the  curtains  of  the  chair  and  stare  at  her.  In 
other  regions,  the  unmarried  girls  find  it  a  source  of  keen 
enjoyment  to  post  themselves  at  a  convenient  position  as  the 
bride  passes,  to  throw  upon  her  handfuls  of  hay -seed  or  chaff, 
which  will  obstinately  adhere  to  her  carefully  oiled  hair  for 
a  long  time.  Upon  her  emerging  from  the  chair  at  the  house 
of  her  new  parents,  she  is  subjected  to  the  same  kind  of  criti- 
cism as  a  newly  bought  horse,  with  what  feelings  on  her  part 
it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine. ' '  ® 

Infancy.  "A  Chinese  baby  is  a  round-faced  little  helpless 
human  animal,  whose  eyes  look  like  two  black  marbles  over 
which  the  skin  had  been  stretched,  and  a  slit  made  on  the 
bias.  His  nose  is  a  little  kopje  in  the  center  of  his  face, 
above  a  yawning  chasm  which  requires  constant  filling  to 
insure  the  preservation  of  law  and  order.  On  his  shaved 
head  are  left  small  tufts  of  hair  in  various  localities,  which 
give  him  the  appearance  of  the  plain  about  Peking,  on  which 
the  traveler  sees,  here  and  there,  a  small  clump  of  trees  around 
a  country  village,  a  home,  or  a  cemetery ;  the  remainder  of  the 
country  being  bare.  These  tufts  are  usually  on  the  'soft 
spot, '  in  the  back  of  his  neck,  over  his  ears  or  in  a  braid  or  a 
ring  on  the  side  of  his  head."^" 

It  was  considered  a  deep  disgrace  if  the  children  of  a  Chi- 
nese mother  were  not  all  born  at  the  father's  home,  and  in 
their  efforts  to  have  such  occur  women  would  do  everything 
possible,  even  going  to  great  inconvenience  and  hardship.  If 
this  should  be  the  first  baby  and  a  boy,  there  would  be  great 
rejoicing  in  the  whole  household,  but  if  a  girl  there  would  not 
only  be  no  rejoicing  but  along  with  depression  the  young 
wife  would  be  treated  with  coldness  and  often  with  harshness, 

*  Smith,  Chinese  characteristics,  198. 
*"  Headland,  Chinese  boy  and  girl,  33. 


The  Child  in  China  113 

and  she  might  be  beaten  for  her  lack  of  discretion  in  not 
producing  a  son. 

On  the  third  day  after  birth,  the  child  was  washed  for  the 
first  time.  Friends  and  relatives  were  invited  to  take  part 
and  they  brought  presents  to  the  child.  Immediately  after 
the  washing,  the  ceremonj^  of  binding  the  wrists  took  place, 
which  in  some  cases  consisted  of  the  tying  of  one  or  more 
ancient  cash  to  each  wrist  by  means  of  a  red  cotton  cord 
while  with  others  only  a  loose  red  string  was  put  around  each 
wrist.  When  the  child  was  a  month  old,  the  mother  and 
child  left  her  room  for  the  first  time  and  the  ceremony  of 
naming  the  baby  and  shaving  its  head  took  place.  All  the 
relatives  and  friends  were  invited  and  they  were  expected  to 
take  dinner  with  the  child,  and,  which  was  more  important, 
to  take  presents. 

"The  presumption  is  that  a  Chinese  child  is  born  with  the 
same  general  disposition  as  children  in  other  countries.  This 
may  perhaps  be  the  case ;  but  either  from  the  treatment  it 
receives  from  parents  or  nurses,  or  because  of  the  disposition 
it  inherits,  its  nature  soon  becomes  changed,  and  it  develops 
certain  characteristics  peculiar  to  the  Chinese  child.  It  be- 
comes t'ao  ch'i.  That  almost  means  mischievous;  it  almost 
means  troublesome — a  little  tartar — but  it  means  exactly 
t'ao  ch'i.  In  this  respect  almost  every  Chinese  child  is  a 
little  tyrant.  Father,  mother,  uncles,  aunts,  and  grandpar- 
ents are  all  made  to  do  his  bidding.  In  case  any  of  them 
seems  to  be  recalcitrant,  the  little  dear  lies  down  on  his  baby 
back  on  the  dusty  ground  and  kicks  and  screams  until  the 
refractory  parent  or  nurse  has  repented  and  succumbed, 
when  he  gets  up  and  good-naturedly  goes  on  with  his  play 
and  allows  them  to  go  about  their  business.  The  child  is 
t'ao  ch'i."'^ 

The  baby  in  China  has  its  toys  to  play  with  and  it  also 
has  its  Mother  Goose  rhymes  and  Headland  states  that  he 
collected  more  than  six  hundred  of  such  rhymes.^^  A  few  will 
be  sufficient  to  give  here  to  show  their  resemblance  to  our 
own.  The  following  is  as  popular  in  China  as  "Jack  and 
Jill"  is  here: 

"He  climbed  up  tlie  candle-stick, 

The  little  mousey  brown, 
To  steal  and  eat  tallow, 
And  he  couldn't  get  down. 

"Headland,  Chinese  boy  and  girl,  35. 
^*Ibid.,  9  et  seq. 


114  The  Historical  Child 

He  called  for  his  grandma, 

But  bis  grandma  was  in  town, 
So  he  doubled  up  into  a  wheel, 

And  rolled  himself  down." 

This  next  one  easily  calls  up  "Lady  bug,  lady  bug,  fly 
away  home:" 

"Fire-fly,  fire-fly, 
Come  from  the  hill. 

Your  father  and  mother 
Are  waiting  here  still. 

They've  brought  you  some  sugar, 
Some  candy  and  meat, 
Come  quick  or  I'll  give  it 
To  baby  to  eat." 

The  following  is  said  over  the  baby's  toes  very  much  as 
"This  little  pig  went  to  market:" 

' '  This  little  cow  eats  grass, 
This  little  cow  eats  hay. 
This  little  cow  drinks  water, 
This  little  cow  runs  away. 
This  little  cow  does  nothing, 
Except  lie  down  all  day. 
We'll  whip  her." 

The  Chinese  loved  their  children  and  yet  infanticide  existed 
with  them,  but  mostly  only  that  of  girls.  The  greatest  cause 
was  poverty.  Being  too  poor  to  care  for  their  children  parents 
thought  best  to  kill  them  than  to  sell  them  into  slavery.  This 
perhaps  was  not  large  over  the  whole  country  and  existed 
to  a  great  extent  only  in  certain  parts,  sometimes  as  high  as 
eighty  per  cent,  of  all  girl  babies  born.  The  following  condi- 
tions as  given  as  found  some  time  before  the  year  1840,  shows 
its  prevalence  in  certain  districts  at  that  time,  as  this  refers 
to  a  small  village  on  the  Amoy  island.  "On  a  second  visit, 
while  addressing  them,  one  man  held  up  a  child,  and  publicly 
acknowledged  that  he  had  killed  five  of  the  helpless  beings, 
having  preserved  but  two.  I  thought  he  was  jesting,  but  as 
no  surprise  or  dissent  was  expressed  by  his  neighbors,  and 
as  there  was  an  air  of  simplicity  and  regret  in  the  individual, 
there  was  no  reason  to  doubt  its  truth.  After  repeating  his 
confession,  he  added  with  affecting  simplicity,  'It  was  before 
I  heard  you  speak  on  this  subject,  I  did  not  know  it  was 
wrong ;  I  would  not  do  so  now. '  Wishing  to  obtain  the  testi- 
mony of  the  assembled  villages,  I  put  the  question  publicly, 


The  Child  in  China<  115 

'"What  number  of  female  infants  in  this  village  are  destroyed 
at  birth?'  The  reply  was,  'More  than  one-half.'  As  there 
was  no  discussion  among  them,  which  is  not  the  case  when 
they  differ  in  opinion,  and  as  we  were  fully  convinced  from 
our  own  observations  of  the  numerical  inequality  of  the  sexes, 
the  proportion  of  deaths  they  gave  did  not  strike  us  as  ex- 
travagant. ' '  ^^ 

It  is  difficult  to  judge  this  matter  correctly  when  such  con- 
trary opinions  are  placed  before  us  as  in  the  following  quota- 
tions, the  first  by  an  American  who  spent  many  years  in 
China  and  the  second  by  a  Chinaman  who  spent  many  years 
in  America.  "Much  has  already  been  done  by  those  who  have 
had  most  opportunity  to  learn  the  facts,  toward  exhibiting 
the  real  practice  of  the  Chinese  in  the  matter  of  destroying 
female  infants.  Yet  no  more  can  be  safely  predicted  than 
that  this  is  a  crime  which  to  some  extent  everywhere  prevails, 
and  in  some  places  to  such  a  degree  as  seriously  to  affect  the 
proportion  of  the  sexes.  It  seems  to  be  most  common  in  the 
maritime  provinces  of  the  southern  part  of  China,  in  some 
districts  of  which  it  is  by  the  Chinese  themselves  regarded  as 
a  terrible  and  a  threatening  evil."^^  "I  am  indignant  that 
there  should  be  a  popular  belief  in  America  that  Chinese  girls 
at  birth  are  generally  put  to  death  by  their  parents  because 
they  are  not  wanted.  Nothing  can  be  further  from  the  truth. 
In  a  country  like  China,  where  women  do  not  appear  in  public 
life,  it  must  follow  that  sons  are  more  to  be  desired,  for  the 
very  good  reason  that  family  honor  and  glory  depend  on 
them  and  ancestral  worship  necessitates  either  the  birth  or 
adoption  of  sons  to  perpetuate  it.  I  venture  to  say  that  in 
proportion  to  population  and  distribution  of  wealth  that 
infanticide  is  as  rare  in  China  as  it  is  in  this  country. ' '  ^* 

Boys  and  Girls.  The  relative  estimation  that  was  placed 
upon  boys  and  girls  in  olden  China  is  well  expressed  by  a 
passage  from  one  of  their  oldest  classics.  The  Book  of  Odes. 
In  describing  the  palace  of  an  ancient  king,  the  dreams  of  the 
king  are  treated  and  then  comes  the  following: 

"Sons  shall  be  born  to  him;  they  will  be  put  to  sleep  on  couches; 
They  will  be  clothed  in  robes;  they  will  have  scepters  to  play  with; 
Their  cry  will  be  loud. 
They  will  be   (hereafter)   resplendent  with  red  knee-covers, 

"Williams,  The  middle  kingdom,  II,  261. 
"Smith,  Village  life  in  China,  259. 
"Lee,  When  I  was  a  boy  in  China,  43. 


116  The  Historical  Child 

The   (future)  king,  the  princes  of  the  land. 

Daughters  will  be  born  to  him.    They  will  be  put  to  sleep  on  the  ground; 

They  will  be  clothed  with  wrappers;   they  will  have  tiles  to  play  with. 

It  will  be  theirs  neither  to  do  wrong  nor  to  do  good. 

Only  about  the  spirits  and  the  food  will  they  have  to  think, 

And  to  cause  no  sorrow  to  their  parents. ' '  " 

The  baby  boy  was  greatly  welcomed  upon  his  arrival  into 
the  famih^  while  the  baby  girl  might  not  only  \\c  unwelcomed 
but  very  greatly  undesired.  This  was  mostly  because  girls 
counted  for  so  little  as  they  would  marry  and  then  no  longer 
belong  to  their  family  but  entirely  to  the  family  of  their 
husband.  Boys  would  not  only  become  the  support  of  their 
family  but  the}'  might  have  opportunity  to  acquire  learning 
and  thus  add  dignity  and  honor  to  their  family.  Too,  there 
was  great  need  of  sons  to  carry  on  the  ancestral  worship  and 
if  not  born  into  the  family  they  must  be  procured  through 
adoption  or  bj^  means  of  concubines.  Without  a  son  a  man 
would  live  without  honor  and  would  die  unhappy.  No  mat- 
ter how  good  or  how  beautiful  a  girl  might  become,  she  could 
never  equal  the  very  poorest  and  weakest  boy. 

Child  and  Parent.  While  his  parents  were  alive,  a  son 
should  continue  to  obey  them,  was  the  doctrine  of  the  classics, 
the  laws,  and  the  customs  of  China.  But  a  daughter,  after 
she  was  married,  was  not  subject  to  her  own  parents  but  to 
her  husband's  parents.  Although  instances  were  rare,  par- 
ents had  the  right  to  bring  their  children  before  magistrates 
for  aid  in  controlling  and  punishing  them.  With  all  this,  it 
would  seem  that  the  children  were  not  greatly  disciplined  nor 
did  they  give  prompt  obedience  to  their  parents. 

Public  sentiment,  especially  in  the  older  times  of  China, 
was  strongly  against  the  individual  who  would  not  accord  to 
his  parents  due  respect  and  obedience.  No  matter  how  old, 
how  educated,  or  how  wealthy  he  might  become  this  respect 
and  obedience  was  still  due  his  parents.  Confucius  taught: 
"That  parents  when  alive  should  be  served  according  to  pro- 
priety, that  when  dead  they  should  be  buried  according  to 
propriety,  and  that  they  should  be  sacrificed  to  according  to 
propriety. ' '  ^^ 

"If  a  son  should  murder  his  parent,  either  father  or 
mother,  and  be  convicted  of  the  crime,  he  would  not  only  be 
beheaded,  but  his  body  would  be  mutilated  by  being  cut  into 

"Smith,  Village  life  in  China,  237. 
"Smith,  Chinese  characteristics,  175. 


The  Child  in  China  117 

small  pieces;  his  house  would  be  razed  to  the  ground,  and 
the  earth  under  it  would  be  dug  up  for  several  feet  deep ;  his 
neighbors  living  on  the  right  and  the  left  would  be  severely 
punished ;  his  principal  teacher  would  suffer  capital  punish- 
ment; the  district  magistrate  of  the  place  would  be  deprived 
of  his  office  and  disgraced ;  the  prefect,  the  governor  of  the 
province,  and  the  viceroy  would  all  be  degraded  three  degrees 
in  rank.  All  this  is  done  and  suffered  to  mark  the  enormity 
of  the  crime  of  a  parricide."  ^^ 

Deformation  of  the  Feet.  The  practice  of  footbinding 
among  the  Chinese  females  was  carried  on  by  all  classes  of 
society,  so  it  was  not  a  mark  of  rank.  It  was  the  fashion  and 
all  classes  followed  it,  for  in  some  places  women  sitting  by 
the  roadside  begging  had  their  feet  bound,  and  in  some 
places,  where  women  worked  in  the  fields,  they  would  have  to 
kneel  to  do  their  work  because  they  could  not  stand  upon  their 
mutilated  feet.  But  of  course  it  prevailed  most  with  the 
higher  and  wealthier  and  more  fashionable  people. 

The  practice  of  the  compressing  of  the  feet  arose  in  China, 
it  is  thought,  sometime  during  the  ninth  century  of  our  era. 
It  is  only  conjecture  as  to  how  and  why  this  originated.  Some 
accounts  state  that  it  arose  from  a  desire  to  pattern  after  the 
club  feet  of  a  popular  empress ;  another  story  is  that  it  gradu- 
ally came  into  use  because  of  the  admiration  of  small  feet 
and  the  attempt  to  imitate  them ;  and  a  third  suggestion  is 
that  it  developed  through  the  men  wishing  to  keep  their  wives 
from  gadding.  The  Chinese  women  call  their  feet  "golden 
lilies,"  which  is  accounted  for  from  the  popular  idea  that  a 
certain  empress  was  so  beautiful  that  golden  lilies  sprang  out 
of  the  ground  wherever  she  stepped. 

The  age  at  which  the  binding  began  varied,  being  from  six 
to  eight  years  of  age,  but  sometimes  the  bandages  were  put  on 
as  soon  as  the  little  girl  was  able  to  walk.  The  whole  oper- 
ation was  performed,  and  the  shape  maintained  by  bandages, 
which  were  never  permanently  removed  or  covered  by  stock- 
ings. The  bandages  were  of  strong  white  cotton  cloth,  about 
two  yards  long  and  between  two  and  three  inches  wide.  The 
end  of  the  strip  was  laid  on  the  inside  of  the  foot  at  the  in- 
step, then  carried  over  the  toes,  leaving  the  great  toe  free,  then 
under  the  foot  and  round  the  heel,  and  the  bandage  was  so 
continued  till  all  used  up  and  then  the  end  was  sewed  tightly 

"  Doolittle,  Sketches  of  social  life  in  China,  Harper 's  Magazine,  XXXI 
(1865),  442. 


118  The  Historical  Child 

down.  Each  day  the  bandage  was  tightened  and  if  the 
bones  should  spring  back  into  place  upon  the  removal  of  the 
bandage,  sometimes  they  would  be  struck  back  into  place  with 
a  blow  from  the  heavy  mallet  used  in  beating  clothes.  These 
bandages  would  finally  cause  a  bulge  in  the  instep,  a  deep 
indentation  in  the  sole,  and  the  toes  would  grow  down  under 
and  across  the  sole  and  come  out  on  the  opposite  side,  the 
great  toe  alone  retaining  its  normal  position,  the  foot  becom- 
ing from  four  to  six  inches  in  length  and  sometimes  even 
three  or  less. 

The  pain  and  suffering,  as  might  be  expected,  was  very 
severe  and  continued  so  for  about  three  years.  In  some  fam- 
ilies the  child  would  have  to  stay  of  nights  in  an  outhouse  or 
elsewhere  away  from  the  family  so  as  not  to  disturb  them 
through  the  night,  while  in  others  the  mother  or  mother-in- 
law  would  have  a  big  stick  by  the  side  of  her  bed,  with  which 
to  get  up  and  beat  the  little  girl  should  she  disturb  the 
household  by  her  wails.  Toes  would  often  drop  off  under 
binding  and  sometimes  the  entire  foot.  When  grown  up  the 
women  could  walk  alone  with  their  maimed  feet  for  short 
distances  but  usually  they  needed  to  be  supported  by  some  one 
or  something.  "Don't  imagine,  however,  that  Chinese  ladies 
are  unable  to  move.  They  can,  most  of  them,  walk  short  dis- 
tances. But  it  is  true  that  the  spirit  is  taken  out  of  them  by 
this  species  of  suffering,  and  that  they  are  oppressed  by  a 
sense  of  physical  helplessness  and  dependence."^® 

Amusements.  "The  active  sports  of  Chinese  boys  are  few. 
There  are  hardly  any  sports,  so-called,  that  develop  the 
muscles  and  render  a  lad  graceful  and  agile.  The  Chinese 
boy  at  sixteen  is  as  grave  and  staid  as  an  American  grand- 
father ;  and  if  he  happens  to  be  married  soon  after,  he  throws 
aside  most  games  as  being  childish.  At  the  best,  he  has  noth- 
ing corresponding  to  baseball,  football,  cricket,  bicycle-riding, 
skating,  sliding,  or  tennis.  Nor  is  he  fond  of  exerting  him- 
self. He  would  rather  sit  for  hours  talking  and  joking  than 
waste  time  in  running  and  jumping.  He  thinks  it  work  if 
his  play  entails  much  perspiration.  His  elders,  too,  frown 
upon  boisterous  games.  They  approve  quiet,  meditative  lads 
who  are  given  to  study. ' '  ^^ 

"Active,  manly  plays  are  not  popular  in  the  south,  and 
instead  of  engaging  in  a  cricket-match  or  regatta,  going  to 

^'Lee,  When  I  was  a  boy  in  China,  47. 
^'Ibid.,  34. 


The  Child  in  China  119 

a  bowling-alley  or  fives'  court,  to  exhibit  their  strength  and 
skill,  the}^  lift  beams  headed  with  heavy  stones  to  prove  their 
brawn,  or  kick  up  their  heels  in  a  game  of  shuttlecock.  The 
outdoor  amusements  of  gentlemen  consist  in  flying  kites, 
carrying  birds  on  perches,  sauntering  hand  in  hand  through 
the  fields,  or  lazily  boating  on  the  water,  while  pitching  cop- 
pers, fighting  crickets  or  quails,  kicking  a  shuttlecock,  snap- 
ping sticks,  chucking  stones  or  guessing  the  number  of  seeds 
in  an  orange,  are  plays  for  lads. ' '  -° 

"Children's  games  are  always  interesting.  Chinese  games 
are  especially  so  because  they  are  a  mine  hitherto  unexplored. 
An  eminent  archdeacon  once  wrote:  'The  Chinese  are  not 
much  given  to  athletic  exercises.'  A  well-known  doctor  of 
divinity  states  that,  'their  sports  do  not  require  much  physi- 
cal exertion,  nor  do  they  often  pair  off,  or  choose  sides  and 
compete,  in  order  to  see  who  are  the  best  players,'  while  a 
still  more  prominent  writer  tells  us  that, '  active,  manly  sports 
are  not  popular  in  the  South.'  Let  us  see  whether  these  opin- 
ions are  true."^^  And  this  author  goes  on  to  give  a  large 
number  of  games,  enough  to  bear  out  his  statement  in  the 
preface  to  his  book  that,  "to  the  careful  observer  of  these 
different  phases  it  becomes  apparent  that  the  Chinese  child  is 
well  supplied  with  methods  of  exercise  and  amusement,  also 
that  he  has  much  in  common  with  children  of  other  lands." 

There  were  numerous  holidays  and  festivals,  giving  abun- 
dance of  entertainment  for  the  children.  The  principal  time 
of  leisure  and  rejoicing  was  at  the  new  year.  On  the  night 
of  the  last  day  of  the  old  year  everybody  would  remain  up 
and  at  midnight  a  great  time  was  begun  with  an  incessant 
firing  of  crackers  and  this  was  kept  up  for  a  number  of  days'. 
Another  great  time  was  at  the  least  of  Lanterns,  in  which 
was  a  procession  of  men  and  boys  with  lanterns  of  all  shapes 
and  sizes,  the  procession  ending  with  an  immense  and  terrible 
dragon,  forty  feet  or  more  in  length,  carried  aloft  on  bamboo 
poles. 

Kite-flying  was  a  national  recreation,  indulged  in  by  all 
ages  and  classes.  It  was  not  an  unusual  thing  to  see  an  old 
gray-haired  man  enjoying  it  in  company  of  a  young  boy. 
All  kinds  of  kites  were  used  and  of  all  sizes.  The  ninth  day 
of  the  ninth  month,  which  comes  in  October,  was  "Kites' 
Day."    On  that  day  the  men  and  the  boys  would  go  out  to 

^Williams,  The  Middle  kingdom,  II,  89. 
*^  Headland,  Chinese  boy  and  girl,  51. 


120  The  Historical  Child 

the  hills  and  have  a  great  time.  Rank  and  size  and  age  made 
no  difference,  as  all  entered  into  the  zeal  of  the  sport  just 
the  same.  The  greatest  sport  consisted  in  the  cutting  of  one 
another's  kite  strings  while  the  kites  were  in  the  air,  which 
was  done  by  the  sawing  of  one  string  on  another. 

There  were  plenty  of  little  shows  and  juggling  and  gym- 
nastic feats  for  the  children  and  who  might  wish  to  see  them. 
They  had  Punch  and  Judy,  trained  dogs  and  monkeys,  the 
whirling  of  plates,  the  tossing  of  knives,  juggling  of  various 
kinds,  sword  swallowing,  and  many  other  tricks  and  per- 
formances. 

The  Chinese  children  had  plenty  of  toj^s,  which,  as  in  all 
countries,  were  suited  to  the  wants  of  that  country.  The 
toys  were  not  greatly  complicated  in  structure.  There  were 
rattles  for  the  baby,  dolls  for  the  little  girl,  and  drums  and 
knives  and  tops  for  the  boys. 

"There  are  not  many  games  in  which  boys  and  girls  play 
together.  If  they  do  play  together  it  is  only  while  they  are 
children,  under  ten  or  twelve.  Growing-up  girls  will  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  boys,  though  Chinese  boys  and 
girls  are  very  sociable,  each  with  friends  of  their  own  sex, ' '  ^^ 

Girls  have  plenty  of  games  they  play  among  themselves — 
"Lots  of  them,"  which  Headland  says  was  the  stereotyped 
answer  that  would  come  from  any  Chinaman  to  almost  any 
question  he  might  be  asked  about  things  Chinese.  Several 
are  given  but  one  quoted  here  will  be  sufficient  to  show  that 
their  games  are  as  full  of  life  as  among  girls  anywhere. 
"This  small  girl  after  some  delay  took  control  of  the  party 
and  began  arranging  them  for  a  game,  which  she  called  '  going 
to  town,'  similar  to  one  which  the  boys  called  'pounding  rice.' 
Two  of  the  girls  stood  back  to  back,  hooked  their  arms,  and 
as  one  bent  forward  she  raised  the  other  from  the  ground, 
and  thus  alternating,  they  sang: 

Up  you  go,  down  you  see, 
Here's  a  turnip  for  you  and  me; 
Here's  a  pitcher,  we'll  go  to  town; 
Oh,  what  a  pity,  we've  fallen  down. 

At  which  point  they  both  sat  down  back  to  back,  their  arms 
still  locked,  and  asked  and  answered  the  following  questions: 

What  do  you  see  in  the  heavens  bright? 
I  see  the  moon  and  the  stars  at  night. 

^'Lee,  When  I  was  a  boy  in  China,  40. 


The  Child  in  China  121 

What  do  you  see  in  the  earth,  pray  tell? 

I  see  in  the  earth  a  deep,  deep  well. 
What  do  you  see  in  the  well,  my  dear? 

I  see  a  frog  and  his  voice  I  hear. 
What  is  he  saying  there  on  the  rock? 

Get  up,  get  up,  ke  'rh  kua,  ke  'rh  kua. 

They  then  tried  to  get  up,  but,  with  their  arms  locked,  they 
found  it  impossible  to  do  so,  and  rolled  over  and  got  up  with 
great  hilarity. ' '  "^ 

In  the  one  city  of  Peking  alone,  Headland  collected  more 
than  seventy-five  different  games.  In  his  pictures  and  de- 
scriptions of  games  pla^^ed  by  boys  are  such  as  would  call  out 
much  vigorous  exercise.  One  of  their  favorite  games  was 
"Skin  the  snake."  In  this  game  the  boys  all  stood  in  line 
one  behind  the  other.  They  would  then  bend  forward  and 
each  put  one  hand  between  his  legs  and  grasp  a  hand  of 
the  boy  behind  him.  Then  they  all  would  back  and  the  rear 
boy  would  lie  down  and  the  others  would  back  over  astride 
of  him  and  each  would  lie  down  in  turn,  thus  bringing  the 
head  between  the  legs  of  his  neighbor.  When  all  were  down 
then  the  last  boy  that  lay  down  would  get  up  and  each  would 
get  up  in  turn,  raising  each  one  after  him,  until  all  were  up 
and  standing  straight,  when  they  would  let  go  hands  and  the 
game  was  finished. 

Gambling  was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  sport  of  the  Chinese, 
and  it  was  indulged  in  by  both  men  and  boys.  "A  boy  with 
two  cash  prefers  to  risk  their  loss  on  the  throw  of  a  die,  to 
simply  buying  a  cake  without  trying  the  chance  of  getting  it 
for  nothing."  -*  One  of  their  means  of  gambling  was  through 
cricket-fighting.  In  the  season,  the  crickets  were  hunted  by 
men  and  boys,  who  would  go  out  to  the  hills  and  waysides 
to  get  them.  They  were  cared  for  and  trained  and  some 
would  become  such  great  fighters  as  to  command  high  prices. 

Dress.  The  Chinese  did  not  use  wool  in  clothing.  In 
the  earlier  times,  before  cotton  was  introduced,  it  is  thought 
that  they  used  for  their  garments  some  other  vegetable  fibers, 
such  as  rushes.  When  cotton  was  introduced  into  China,  it 
became  the  chief  material  for  clothing.  They  did  not  use 
underclothing  but  padded  the  outer  garments  for  winter  use 
and  as  the  weather  grew  colder  they  would  put  on  more 
wadded  clothes  till  in  full  winter  they  would  become  about 

^  Headland,  Chinese  boys  and  girls,  80. 
'"Williams,  Middle  kingdom,  II,  89. 


122  The  Historical  Child 

double  their  usual  size.  Their  shoes  were  made  of  cloth  and 
so  they  were  a  poor  protection  from  cold  and  moisture. 

The  young  women  enjoyed  wearing  colors,  pink  and  green 
and  blue  being  the  ones  most  preferred.  The  ordinary  dress 
was  a  large-sleeved  robe  of  silk  or  cotton  over  a  longer  gar- 
ment, under  v/hich  were  loose  trousers  fastened  round  the 
ankles  just  above  the  small  feet  and  tight  shoes.  They  wore 
their  hair  hanging  down  in  long  tresses,  and  the  putting  up 
of  the  hair  was  one  of  the  ceremonies  preparatory  to  mar- 
riage. The  eyebrows  were  blackened  with  charred  sticks  and 
arched  or  narrowed  to  a  fine  curved  line,  to  resemble  a  young 
willow  leaflet  or  the  moon  when  a  day  or  two  old.  Cosmetics 
were  used  quite  freel}^,  on  grand  occasions  the  face  being 
daubed  with  white  paint  and  the  lips  and  cheeks  with  red, 
so  that  all  blushes  were  covered  up.  They  wore  bangles, 
bracelets,  and  ear-rings  of  glass,  stone,  and  metal.  ''A  belle 
is  described  as  having  cheeks  like  the  almond  flower,  lips  like 
a  peach 's  bloom,  waist  as  the  willow  leaf,  eyes  bright  as  danc- 
ing ripples  in  the  sun,  and  footsteps  like  the  lotus  flower."  ^^ 

In  some  parts  of  China,  if  not  in  all,  the  baby  in  summer- 
time wore  no  clothing  at  all.  In  the  winter  it  wore  quilted 
trousers  with  feet  attached.  In  some  parts  the  trousers  of 
the  baby  were  partly  filled  with  sand  or  earth,  so  that  it  was 
a  common  saying  that  a  person  who  displayed  small  practical 
knowledge  had  not  yet  been  taken  out  of  his  ' '  earth-trousers. ' ' 
The  older  children  wore  the  same  pattern  of  clothing  and  cut 
out  of  the  same  kind  of  cloth  as  their  parents  and  grandpar- 
ents. 

Religion.  ''In  considering  all  systems  of  idolatry  and 
superstition,  one  significant  fact  stands  prominent,  the  wtter 
neglect  of  religious  training  of  the  young.  China's  three 
great  religions  have  nothing  answering  to  the  Christian  Sun- 
day School.  Of  course,  boys  and  girls  pick  up  some  religious 
ideas  in  their  intercourse  with  those  about  them.  But  no- 
body ever  deliberately  sits  down  to  tell  them  of  this  god  and 
that  god,  their  origin,  character  and  power.  Only  incident- 
ally is  such  knowledge  conveyed.  There  are  many  religious 
books;  but  from  the  difficulty  of  learning  to  read,  they  are 
necessarily  sealed  to  the  young  mind.  If  the  young  are 
told  to  worship  this  idol  and  that  idol,  they  never  understand 
why  and  wherefore  they  should  do  this.  In  time  they  com- 
prehend that  they  do  it  to  obtain  favor  and  to  gain  merit. 

« Williams,  Middle  kingdom,  II,  41. 


The  Child  in  China  123 

"I  well  remember  the  first  time  I  was  led  to  a  temple  and 
there  told  to  bend  my  knees  to  the  idol  decked  out  in  a 
gorgeous  robe,  its  face  blackened  by  the  smoke  from  the 
incense.  On  either  side  of  the  room  stood  four  huge  idols, 
with  stern  and  forbidding  faces.  One  of  them  was  especially 
frightful.  It  was  the  God  of  Thunder  represented  by  an 
image  having  the  body  of  a  man  and  the  head  of  a  highly 
caricatured  rooster.  This  idol  had  a  hammer  in  one  hand 
and  a  large  nail  in  the  other,  with  which  he  is,  supposed  to 
strike  wicked  persons.  This  god  made  such  an  impression 
on  me  that  I  had  a  horrible  dream  about  it  that  very  night. 
I  saw  him  clad  in  fierceness ;  he  moved  his  hands  threat- 
eningly. Almost  choked  with  fright  though  I  was,  I  managed 
to  cry  out  and  that  awoke  me. ' '  -'^ 

Education.  Education  in  China  is  of  long  standing.  The 
Chinese  from  the  earliest  time,  2,000  b.  c,  or  even  earlier, 
held  school  education  of  high  value.  The  competitive  liter- 
ary examinations  of  candidates  for  office  was  established 
about  a  thousand  years  later  and  about  700  a.  d.  the  whole 
plan  was  gone  over  and  arranged  as  found  in  the  last  cen- 
tury, previous  to  the  changes  of  recent  years.  No  other 
nation  has  so  venerated  scholars  and  scholarship. 

Nevertheless  of  this  high  esteem  for  education,  there  were 
no  public  schools  in  the  sense  as  with  us  as  the  government 
did  not  establish  schools,  except,  perhaps,  for  the  most  ad- 
vanced students.  Yet  there  were  a  great  number  of  schools, 
taken  care  of  in  a  private  way,  and  although  every  village 
did  not  have  a  school,  yet  they  would  have  liked  such,  but 
mostly  on  account  of  poverty  could  not,  for  everywhere  was 
the  most  profound  reverence  for  education.  There  were 
three  classes  of  undergraduate  schools :  ' '  The  primary,  in 
which  little  is  attended  to  beyond  memoriter  recitation  and 
imitative  chirography;  the  middle,  in  which  the  canonical 
books  are  expounded ;  and  the  classical,  in  which  composition 
is  the  leading  exercise, ' '  -^  Because  of  the  great  number  of 
literary  scholars  who  wanted  to  teach,  the  pay  for  the  most 
part  was  quite  meager. 

School  usually  began  about  six  in  the  morning,  and  it  con- 
tinued all  day,  with  intervals  for  breakfast  and  lunch,  some- 
times running  till  dark.  In  some  of  the  higher  schools  the 
scholars  would  return  in  the  evening  to  their  school  work. 

^"Lee,  When  I  was  a  boy  in  China,  70. 
"Martin,  The  Chinese,  71. 


124  The  Historical  Child 

School  would  eontiniie  throughout  the  entire  week  and  the 
year,  except  one  month  during  the  New  Year's  festival  and 
a  vacation  at  wheat  harvest  and  also  at  the  autumnal  harvest. 
If  the  teacher  was  preparing  himself  for  a  literary  degree, 
there  might  be  a  vacation  of  about  six  weeks  in  the  summer. 
The  teacher  was  often  not  quite  regular  in  his  attendance  at 
the  school  and  the  pupils  were  still  more  irregular  than  he, 
so  that  in  a  way  made  up  for  the  lack  of  holidays. 

There  were  scarcely  any  school-houses  as  such  in  China. 
The  schools  were  held  as  a  rule  in  the  hall  of  a  temple  or  in 
a  private  building,  usually  the  ancestral  temples  were  used 
for  such  purposes,  and  yet  they  might  be  held  in  a  shed, 
which  scarcely  protected  from  the  weather,  or  in  the  upper 
attic  of  a  shop.  In  this  room  were  placed  a  table,  with  an 
arm-chair,  for  the  teacher.  The  writing-materials,  which 
consisted  of  brushes,  India  ink,  and  ink-wells  made  of  slate, 
were  placed  on  this  table.  About  the  room  were  tables  and 
stools  for  the  pupils.  In  one  corner  of  the  room  was  placed 
a  tablet  or  an  inscription  on  the  wall,  dedicated  to  Con- 
fucius and  the  god  of  Letters. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  education  in  older  China,  the 
teachers  were  educated  men,  the  majority  of  them  being  un- 
successful candidates  for  literary  degrees,  but  many  of  them 
were  Bachelors  and  not  a  few  were  Doctors.  For  the  work 
they  had  to  do  they  were  well  prepared  by  a  long  course  of 
study  and  they  were  usually  competent.  "In  no  country  is 
the  office  of  teacher  more  revered.  Not  only  is  the  living 
instructor  saluted  with  forms  of  the  profoundest  respect,  but 
the  very  name  of  teacher,  taken  in  the  abstract,  is  an  object 
of  almost  idolatrous  homage."-^  Yet,  "as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  Chinese  teacher  is  often  barely  able  to  keep  soul  cind 
body  together,  and  is  frequently  obliged  to  borrow  garments 
in  which  to  appear  before  his  patrons."-^ 

The  first  day  of  school  was  a  great  and  noted  day  in  the 
life  of  a  Chinese  boy.  He  entered  school  in  his  seventh  or 
eighth  year.  AVhen  he  was  to  enter  school,  a  lucky  day  was 
found  for  him,  and  with  his  good  clothes  on  he  started  for 
school,  feeling  that  this  was  the  greatest  event  that  was  to 
happen  in  his  life  till  he  entered  the  Imperial  Academy, 
which  he  was  sure  to  do,  so  said  all  his  friends.  On  enter- 
ing the  school-room  he  saluted,  by  prostrating  himself,  the 

2«  Martin,   The   Chinese,   62. 

^  Smith,  Village  life  in  China,  73. 


The  Child  in  China.  125 

picture  of  Confucius  and  next,  with  almost  as  much,  rever- 
ence, saluted  his  teacher,  for  the  teacher  was  held  in  very 
high  respect. 

The  course  of  study  for  the  schools  of  China  was  formu- 
lated a  long  time  ago  and  rigidly  held  to  in  all  the  schools 
of  the  empire.  It  was  divided  into  three  grades  of  instruc- 
tion. The  Chinese  language  do€S  not  have  an  alphabet  but 
there  is  a  different  symbol  for  each  word.  In  the  first  period 
the  pupil  was  to  learn  the  most  important  symbols,  learning 
also  to  write  them,  and  to  commit  to  memory  the  nine  sacred 
books,  known  as  the  Four  Books  and  the  Five  Classics.  The 
Four  Books  are  known  as  the  Confucian  Analects,  the  Great 
Learning,  the  Golden  Medium,  and  the  Sayings  of  Mencius; 
and  the  Five  Classics  are  the  Book  of  Changes,  the  Book  of 
History,  the  Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  the  Book  of  Odes, 
and  the  Book  of  Rites.  All  this  would  take  four  or  five  years 
on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  As  these  books  were  written  in  the 
old  Chinese  language  they  would  not  be  understood  by  the 
pupils  and  the  second  stage  of  learning  consisted  in  the  trans- 
lation of  these  books  and  classics  into  the  language  of  the 
pupils,  and  also  there  were  lessons  in  composition.  The 
commentaries  on  these  works  were  taken  up  and  their  mean- 
ing explained.  In  the  third  stage  of  learning  composition 
was  entered  upon  and  consisted  in  the  writing  of  essays  and 
poems,  imitating  the  style  and  thought  of  the  five  classics 
and  the  better  commentaries.  A  full  comprehension  of  the 
four  books  and  the  five  classics  and  the  commentaries  upon 
them  and  the  use  of  this  knowledge  in  the  Meriting  of  essays 
and  poems  was  the  desired  end  aimed  at  by  the  Chinese 
scholar  and  which  was  all  that  was  needed  for  the  highest  ex- 
amination in  the  empire. 

The  methods  of  teaching  with  the  Chinese  were  formal, 
being  based  upon  methods  handed  down  from  the  ages,  so 
that  all  teachers  taught  in  the  one  stereotyped  way.  In 
teaching  reading  the  teacher  would  have  the  pupils  come  to 
his  desk,  stand  in  line,  each  holding  his  book  open  before  him. 
The  teacher  would  read  aloud  a  line,  the  pupils  would  then 
read  this  in  concert  in  a  loud  voice,  and  this  would  continue 
till  the  pupils  could  pronounce  the  line  without  the  teacher's 
help.  Then  they  would  go  to  their  seats  and  commit  this 
line  to  memory,  each  shouting  it  out  as  loud  as  he  could, 
"Every  Chinese  regards  this  shouting  as  an  indispensable 
part  of  the  child 's  education.    If  he  is  not  shouting  how  can 


126  The  Historical  Child 

the  teacher  be  sure  that  he  is  studying  ?  and  as  studying  and 
shouting  are  the  same  thing,  when  he  is  shouting  there  is 
nothing  more  to  be  desired. ' '  ^°  When  the  pupil  had  learned 
the  line,  he  would  go  to  the  teacher's  desk,  lay  his  book  upon 
it,  turn  his  back  to  the  teacher,  and  shout  out  the  line  as 
rapidly  as  he  possibly  could  do.  This  method  gave  to  the 
Chinese  the  phrase  "to  back  the  book"  as  we  have  "to  learn 
by  heart."  This  method  was  continued  till  the  whole  book 
was  committed  to  memory. 

The  only  other  subject  taught  in  the  elementary  schools 
was  writing.  In  teaching  writing,  the  master  would  make 
a  copy  and  the  pupil  would  place  it  under  transparent  paper 
and  trace  it  with  a  hair  pencil  and  then  copy  it  without  the 
tracing  till  he  could  make  it  from  memory,  ' '  In  lieu  of  slates, 
they  generally  use  boards  painted  white  to  save  paper,  wash- 
ing out  the  writing  when  finished. "  ^^  In  China,  writing 
takes  the  place  that  drawing  and  painting  do  here,  so  all 
strive  to  become  fine  penmen. 

For  most  of  the  boys,  three  or  four  years  was  the  extent 
of  their  schooling,  but  if  higher  education  was  desired  they 
attended  higher  schools.  Here  they  were  given  lectures  ex- 
plaining the  meaning  of  classical  authors,  which  lectures  were 
greatly  committed  to  memory.  They  were  also  taught  prose 
and  verse  composition,  in  which  they  followed  the  thought, 
style,  and  meter  of  the  sacred  books  or  of  great  writers,  mem- 
orizing these  writings  for  the  purpose. 

The  Chinese  teacher  was  very  severe.  The  more  severe  he 
was,  the  better  teacher  he  was  considered.  Fear  ruled  in  the 
Chinese  school.  That  the  boy  might  ever  be  reminded  of 
the  necessity  of  studying,  the  implements  to  help  him  were 
always  kept  in  plain  view,  as,  "a  wooden  ruler  to  be  applied 
to  the  head  of  the  offender  and  sometimes  the  hands,  also  a 
rattan  stick  for  the  body.  Flogging  with  this  stick  is  the 
heaviest  punishment  allowed;  for  slight  offenses  the  ruler  is 
used  upon  the  palms,  and  for  reciting  poorly — upon  the 
head,"^^  Teachers  carried  their  punishments  to  extreme 
lengths.  The  bad  pupils  were  the  stupid  ones  who  did  not 
get  their  lessons  assigned  in  the  given  time.  For  such,  severe 
beatings  were  administered,  so  severe  that  in  one  case  ' '  a  pupil 

*"  Smith,  Village  life  in   China,   80. 

"  Davis,  The  Chinese,  I,  276. 

""Lee,  When  I  was  a  boj  in  China,  54. 


The  Child  m  China  12*7 

was  so  nmcli  injured  as  to  be  thrown  into  fits,  and  such  in- 
stances can  scarcely  be  uncommon. "  ^^ 

Girls  were  not  often  educated  in  China,  because  the  parents 
thought  it  of  no  use  as  they  would  marry  and  leave  them, 
also  there  was  no  such  incentive  for  girls  as  with  boys,  who 
might  hold  office,  and  besides  popular  opinion  regarded  read- 
ing and  writing  dangerous  arts  in  female  hands.  Neverthe- 
less here  and  there  a  woman  came  forth  among  the  educated 
and  celebrated  instances  were  sometimes  quoted  of  women 
who  have  been  skilled  in  verse.  "When  a  woman  did  emerge 
with  a  good  education,  she  was  highly  respected  for  her  at- 
tainments. The  girls  of  the  better  class  were  taught  needle- 
work, painting  on  silk,  and  music. 

Education  in  China  did  not  stop  with  the  youth,  as  the 
manner  of  filling  the  offices  through  literary  competitive  ex- 
aminations kept  many  studying  even  to  old  age.  This 
system  was  very  old,  dating  back  to  several  centuries  before 
Christ.  In  these  examinations  there  were  three  grades  of 
degrees  conferred — "flowering  talent,"  Bachelors;  ''pro- 
moted man,"  Master;  "entered  scholar,"  Doctor.  Beyond 
this  was  yet  another  higher  honor,  as  the  very  highest  became 
members  of  the  Imperial  Academy,  the  "forest  of  pencils," 
at  the  court  at  Peking.  The  best  and  most  finished  scholar 
of  all  was  so  designated  every  three  years  by  the  Emperor, 
the  very  greatest  honor.  The  only  thing  in  history  that  seems 
to  approach  this  honor  is  the  winning  of  the  foot-race  at  the 
Olympian  Games. 

Chinese  education  appears  to  fulfill  the  saying  heard  in 
this  country  in  bygone  days — Educate  a  boy  and  he  won't 
work — for  in  China  "the  scholar,  even  the  village  scholar, 
not  only  does  not  plow  and  reap,  but  he  does  not  in  any  way 
assist  those  who  perform  these  necessary  acts.  He  does  not 
harness  an  animal,  nor  feed  him,  nor  drive  a  cart,  nor  light 
a  fire,  nor  bring  water — in  short,  so  far  as  physical  exertion 
goes,  he  does  as  nearly  as  possible  nothing  all  day.  'The 
scholar  is  not  a  utensil',  (a  Confucian  saying),  he  seems 
to  be  thinking  all  day  long,  and  every  day  of  his  life,  until 
one  wishes  that  at  times  he  would  be  a  utensil,  that  he  might 
sometimes  be  of  use.  He  will  not  even  move  a  bench  nor 
make  any  motion  that  looks  like  labor. ' '  ^* 

•'Smith,  Village  life  in  China,  79. 
'*Ibid.,  93. 


128  The  Historical  Child 

"There  are  among  us  who  are  enamored  of  state-systems 
which  regulate  education  down  to  its  minutest  detail,  and 
leave  no  room  for  the  free  play  of  mind:  in  China  we  have 
this  indirectly  accomplished  and  see  in  it  all  its  necessary 
rigidity,  uniformity,  and  pedantry.  There  are  who  advocate 
a  secular  system  of  education:  in  China  we  see  this  in  full 
operation.  There  are  who  think  that  all  success  in  the 
education  of  mind  should  be  measured  by  external  competi- 
tive tests:  in  China  we  have  this  elaborated  into  an  iron 
system.  There  are  who  cling  by  the  dogmatic  and  preceptive, 
and  regard  with  suspicion  the  habituating  of  the  mind  of 
schoolboys  to  ideals  esthetic  and  spiritual,  including  even 
the  simple  elements  of  humanity:  in  China  they  will  find 
what  they  desire  to  see.  There  are  who  hold  that  teachers 
and  school-inspectors  are  heaven-born,  and  are  above  the 
study  of  educational  principles  and  methods  (as  the  Emperor 
Sigismund  was  supra  Grammaticam)  :  so  China  thinks."'^ 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  Chinese  education,  it  has  lasted 
through  the  ages  and  it  has  sufficed  for  the  needs  of  the  nation. 
It  may  be  that  when  this  old  nation  gets  a  system  of  educa- 
tion based  upon  European  and  American  ideas,  and  fills  her 
offices  with  the  most  highly  educated  and  only  the  most  highly 
educated,  then  may  China  lead  the  world. 


LITERATURE 

1.  Barnes,  Earl  and  Mary  S.,  Historical  ideas  and  methods 
of  Chinese  education.  Studies  in  education,  I  (1896-97),  112- 
118. 

2.  Carus,  Paul,  Chinese  life  and  customs. 

3.  Davis,  John  Francis,  The  Chinese. 

4.  Doolittle,  Justus,  Sketches  of  social  life  in  China. 
Harper's  Magazijie,  XXXI  (1865),  429-442. 

5.  Douglass,  Robert  K.,  China. 

6.  Flower,  "William  Henry,  Fashion  in  deformity. 

7.  Graves,  Frank  Pierrepont,  A  history  of  education.  Be- 
fore the  Middle  Ages. 

8.  Headland,  Isaac  Taylor,  Home  life  in  China. 

9.  Headland,  Isaac  Taylor,  The  Chinese  boy  and  girl. 

10.     Laurie,  S.  S.,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  edu- 
cation. 
"Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,   150. 


The  Child  in  China  129 

11.  Lee,  Yan  Phon,  "When  I  was  a  boy  in  China. 

12.  Little,  Mrs.   Archibald,   Intimate   China. 

13.  Martin,  W.  A.  P.,  The  Chinese. 

14.  Martin,  W.  A.  P.,  The  lore  of  Cathay. 

15.  Smith,  Arthur  H.,  Chinese  characteristics. 

16.  Smith,  Arthur  H.,  Village  life  in  China. 

17.  "Williams,  S.  Wells,  The  Middle  Kingdom. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    CHILD    IN    JAPAN 

Women.  Although  women  have  always  stood  higher  in 
Japan  than  in  any  other  oriental  country,  yet  they  were  much 
more  highly  considered  in  the  early  times  than  in  the  later 
times.  There  was  no  seclusion,  they  had  a  station  in  society, 
they  shared  in  the  recreations  of  their  fathers  and  husbands, 
they  possessed  intellectual  and  physical  vigor,  they  filled  of- 
fices of  state  and  religion;  in  fact,  they  ranked  alongside  of 
men  as  among  the  best  nations  of  the  earth.  Among  the 
rulers  of  Japan  there  have  been  nine  empresses,  the  most 
noted  having  been  Jingu  and  who  led  a  conquering  expedi- 
tion into  Corea  about  200  A.  D.,  from  whence  came  letters, 
religion,  and  civilization  into  Japan. 

"Of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  Japanese  sovereigns, 
nine  have  been  women.  The  custodian  of  the  divine  regalia 
is  a  virgin  priestess.  The  chief  deity  in  their  mythology  is 
a  woman.  Japanese  women,  by  their  wit  and  genius,  made 
their  native  tongue  a  literary  language.  In  literature,  art, 
poetry,  song,  the  names  of  women  are  among  the  most  bril- 
liant of  those  on  the  long  roll  of  fame  and  honor  on  whose 
brows  the  Japanese,  at  least,  have  placed  the  fadeless  chaplet 
of  renown.  Their  memory  is  still  kept  green  by  recitation, 
quotation,  reading,  and  inscription  on  screen,  roll,  memorial- 
stone,  wall,  fan,  cup,  and  those  exquisite  works  of  art  that 
delight  even  alien  admirers  east  and  west  of  the  Pacific. 

"In  the  records  of  the  Japanese  glory,  valor,  fortitude  in 
affliction,  greatness  in  the  hour  of  death,  filial  devotion,  wifely 
affection,  in  all  the  straits  of  life  when  codes  of  honor,  morals, 
and  religion  are  tested  in  the  person  of  their  professors,  the 
literature  of  history  and  romance,  the  every-day  routine  of 
fact,  teem  with  instances  of  the  Japanese  woman's  power  and 
willingness  to  share  whatever  of  pain  or  sorrow  is  appointed 
to  man.  In  the  annals  of  persecution,  in  the  red  roll  of 
martyrs,  no  names  are  brighter,  no  faces  gleam  more  peace- 

130 


The  Child  in  Japan  131 

fully  amidst  the  flames,  or  on  the  cross  of  transfixing  spears, 
or  on  the  pyre  of  rice-straw,  or  on  the  precipice  edge,  or  in 
the  open  grave  about  to  be  filled  up,  than  the  faces  of  the 
Christian  Japanese  women  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Such 
is  the  position  of  woman  in  Japan  in  the  past."  ^ 

In  later  times  woman  fell  from  her  high  estate  and  even 
lost  power  over  herself,  as  she  came  under  her  father  in  the 
home,  under  her  husband  when  married,  and  under  her  son 
when  widowed.  "The  introduction  of  the  Chinese  civiliza- 
tion with  the  Confucian  system  of  moral  philosophy,  and  of 
Buddism,  and  later  on  the  establishment  of  Feudalism,  were 
prejudicial  to  this  high  position  of  women.  Chinese  philos- 
ophers seem  not  to  have  had  much  respect  for  women ;  while 
Buddism  regards  women  as  sinful  creatures,  a  temptation  and 
snare,  an  obstacle  to  peace  and  holiness.  In  our  feudal  sys- 
tem, in  the  code  of  Bushido,  there  was  no  reverence  for 
women  as  in  the  Western  Chivalry."^  Buddism  entered 
into  Japan  in  the  sixth  century  of  the  Christian  era  and 
Confucianism  came  in  some  earlier,  while  Feudalism  existed 
in  Japan  earlier  than  in  Europe  and  continued  later,  from 
the  fifteenth  to  the  sixteenth  centuries  being  the  time  during 
which  the  feudal  system  received  its  most  perfect  develop- 
ment and  the  Bushido,  or  "The  Way  of  the  Samurai,"  was 
fully  elaborated. 

The  Japanese  women  had  a  love  for  beauty,  order  and 
neatness ;  they  were  patient  and  long-suffering ;  their  hopes 
lay  in  their  children  and  they  tended  and  cared  for  them  as, 
perhaps,  no  other  nation  of  women  ever  did.  They  had  plenty 
to  keep  them  busy  with  their  numerous  household  duties  and 
the  making  of  their  own  clothing  and  that  of  their  children. 
Many  of  them  were  engaged  in  the  care  of  silk-worms  and 
in  tea-picking.  The  country  wife  was  busy  in  the  rice-field, 
doing  her  work  alongside  her  husband  and  sons,  as  well  as 
performing  the  other  duties  that  came  into  her  country  life. 
"Among  the  daily  tasks  of  the  housewife,  one,  and  by  no 
means  the  least  of  her  duties,  is  to  receive,  duly  acknowledge, 
and  return  in  suitable  manner,  the  presents  received  in  the 
family.  Presents  are  not  confined  to  special  seasons,  al- 
though upon  certain  occasions  etiquette  is  rigid  in  its  re- 
quirements in  this  matter,  but  they  may  be  given  and  re- 

*Griffis,  The  Mikado's  empire,  II,  553. 
*Kikuchi,  Japanese  education,  261. 


132  The  Historical  Child 

ceived  at  all  times,  for  tlie  Japanese  are  pre-eminently  a 
present-giving  nation. ' '  ^ 

' '  As  regards  our  standard  of  beauty.  ...  A  woman  to 
be  considered  beautiful  by  us,  need  not  be  tall.  Height  may 
be  divinely  imposing,  but  not  essential  to  human  beauty. 
"With  us,  about  five  feet  would  be  considered  the  most  de- 
sirable height,  but  if  one  must  err,  it  is  advisable  to  err  by 
exceeding  rather  than  by  falling  short  of  the  mark.  The 
figure  should  be  slender  without  being  bony,  the  waist  long 
and  the  hips  narrow.  To  secure  grace,  the  body  should  be 
held  slightly  forward,  not  boldly  erect.  A  very  important 
feature  is  the  neck,  which  should  be  long,  white,  slender, 
and  gracefully  curved.  The  hair  should,  of  course,  be  abun- 
dant, long,  and  perfectly  straight,  and  while  no  deviation 
from  black  is  tolerated,  it  should  not  be  just  black,  but  should 
be  so  glossy  that  it  seems  blue-black.  The  face  should  be 
oval  and  long,  with  a  straight  nose,  which  should  also  be  high 
and  narrow.  As  for  the  eyes,  opinions  are  divided,  one 
school  of  connoisseurs  demanding  that  they  should  be  large 
with  a  double  line  of  the  lid,  while  another  school  prefers 
that  the  eyes  should  be  long  and  narrow  and  slightly  slant- 
ing upwards  at  the  outer  corner.  The  color  of  the  eye  should 
always  be  clear  and  deep  brown;  the  lashes  thick,  long,  and 
curved ;  the  eyebrows  black  and  distinct,  their  line  long,  and 
well  arched;  the  mouth  small;  lips  thin,  curved,  and  red; 
teeth  small,  regular,  and  white.  The  ears  must  be  evenly 
curved,  with  no  angle,  and  in  size  not  too  small,  for  pinched 
lobes  look  poverty-stricken.  Large  ears,  like  those  of  the 
probable  inhabitants  of  Mars,  lately  described  by  Professor 
Perrier,  if  not  exactly  beautiful,  are  believed  to  be  lucky. 
As  for  the  shape  of  the  forehead,  there  are  four  types.  By 
the  one  termed  'horned,'  we  mean  that  in  which  the  hair 
grows  to  a  point  in  the  middle  of  the  forehead  and  high  at 
the  sides  after  the  fashion  called  by  the  Germans  Geheim- 
raths-Ecke  or  the  'Councillor's  corners.'  Then  there  are  the 
square  and  the  round  types;  but  the  forehead  most  admired 
is  high  and  narrow  at  the  top,  and  obliquely  slanting  at  the 
sides,  suggesting  the  outline  of  our  sacred  mountain,  Fuji. 
As  for  the  complexion,  it  should  be  fair,  with  a  tint  of  the 
rose  on  the  cheek,  only,  in  our  parlance,  we  would  call  it 
cherry -hued. ' '  * 

^  Bacon,  Japanese  girls  and  ■women,  96. 
*Nitobe,  The  Japanese  nation,  96. 


The  Child  in  Japan  133 

One  of  the  phases  of  the  life  of  women  in  Japan  is  that 
of  the  dancing-girls,  the  geisha.  These  are  girls  obtained 
when  quite  young  from  poor  parents  or  as  orphans  and 
trained  in  establishments  for  entertaining  at  tea-houses  or 
at  private  gatherings.  They  are  taught  the  old  Japanese 
dances,  and  other  dances,  to  sing  and  to  play  on  instruments, 
to  serve  wine,  and  in  other  ways  to  entertain.  These  are 
from  ancient  times.  "The  geisha  are  not  necessarily  'bad 
women,'  as  you  call  them,  not  any  worse  professionally  than 
the  actresses  and  vaudeville  artistes  of  America."^  What- 
ever the  geisha  may  be,  there  is  no  question  about  the  joro, 
or  courtesans,  because  licensed  houses  exist  in  every  part  of 
Japan,  Yet  this  is  claimed  of  rather  recent  origin,  as  in  the 
older  times  such  houses  did  not  exist,  and  especially  in  the 
villages  and  towns  of  the  interior,  where  there  were  even  but 
few  of  such  women.  The  saddest  side  of  these  houses  is  their 
filling  through  filial  obedience,  the  one  thing  considered  most 
important  for  Japanese  women.  ''The  Japanese  maiden,  as 
pure  as  the  purest  Christian  virgin,  will,  at  the  command  of 
her  father,  enter  the  brothel  tomorrow,  and  prostitute  her- 
self for  life.  Not  a  murmur  escapes  her  lips  as  she  thus 
filially  obeys.  To  a  life  she  loathes,  and  to  disease,  prema- 
ture old  age,  and  an  early  grave,  she  goes  joyfully.  The 
staple  of  a  thousand  novels,  plays,  and  pictures  in  Japan 
is  written  in  the  life  of  a  girl  of  gentle  manners  and  tender 
heart,  who  hates  her  life  and  would  gladly  destroy  it,  but 
refrains  because  her  purchase-money  has  enabled  her  father 
to  pay  his  debts,  and  she  is  bound  not  to  injure  herself.  In 
the  stews  of  the  great  cities  of  Japan  are  today,  I  doubt  not, 
hundreds  of  girls  who  loathe  their  existence,  but  must  live 
on  in  gilded  misery  because  they  are  fulfilling  all  righteous- 
ness as  summed  up  in  filial  piety. ' '  ® 

Old  age  was  not  a  burden  or  a  fear  among  the  Japanese 
women,  nor  was  it  something  to  be  ashamed  of.  Old  age 
was  really  welcome,  and  especially  in  the  last  centuries  when 
woman's  freedom  was  taken  away  and  obedience  to  the  men 
introduced,  for  old  age  brought  freedom,  as  then  the  mother 
became  a  person  of  much  consideration,  to  be  waited  upon 
and  cared  for  by  children  and  grandchildren,  the  burdens 
of  life  being  turned  over  to  them.  "As  she  bears  all  things, 
endures  all  things,  suffers  long,  and  is  kind,  as  she  seryes  her 

^Nitobe,  The  Japanese  nation,  165. 
•  Griffis,  The  Mikado 's  empire,  II,  555. 


134  The  Historical  Child 

mother-in-law,  manages  her  husband's  household,  cares  for 
her  babies,  the  thought  that  cheers  and  encourages  her  in 
her  busy  and  not  too  happy  life  is  the  thought  of  the  sunny, 
calm  old  age,  when  she  can  lay  her  burdens  and  cares  on 
younger  shoulders,  and  bask  in  the  warmth  and  sunshine 
which  this  Indian  Summer  of  her  life  will  bring  to  her."' 

Marriage.  A  young  woman  in  Japan  was  expected  as  a 
matter  of  course  to  marry.  Any  young  woman  was  not  forced 
to  marry  any  young  man,  for  there  was  a  certain  freedom 
of  choice  on  her  part.  Young  people  were  expected  to  marry 
within  their  rank.  In  the  early  times,  marriage  between  a 
brother  and  sister  of  the  same  mother  was  not  permitted, 
but  if  by  the  same  father  by  a  different  mother  they  could 
marry,  as  they  were  not  considered  related  as  in  the  first 
instance.  In  these  earlier  times  marriage  was  permitted  at 
sixteen  in  man  and  thirteen  in  woman.  Marriage  was  not 
a  religious  affair,  and  not  even  a  contract  between  the  par- 
ties. It  was  rather  a  giving  away  of  the  girl  to  the  man 
who  was  to  be  her  husband  and  to  his  family,  so  that  the 
bride's  person  and  property  passed  completely  under  the 
control  oi  the  husband  and  his  family. 

At  one  time,  according  to  one  authority,  when  a  youth 
had  fixed  his  affections  upon  a  maiden  of  suitable  condition, 
he  disclosed  his  passion  by  attaching  a  branch  of  a  certain 
shrub  (the  Cdastrus  alatus)  to  the  house  of  tlie  damsel's 
parents.  If  this  emblem  of  his  passion  was  neglected,  it 
implied  that  his  suit  was  rejected;  if  accepted,  so  was  the 
lover;  and  should  the  young  lady  wish  to  express  reciprocal 
tenderness,  she  forthwith  blackened  her  teeth,  though  she 
must  not  pluck  out  her  eyebrows  until  after  the  wedding.^ 
In  other  times,  the  affair  was  arranged  by  a  go-between.  A 
young  man  would  get  a  married  friend  to  help  him  select 
a  bride,  to  make  his  wants  known  to  the  girl  and  her  family, 
and  to  arrange  a  meeting  between  the  young  people  at  the 
home  of  a  mutual  friend,  where  they  could  decide  the  mat- 
ter. Again  the  matter  may  have  been  arranged  by  the  fami- 
lies, it  might  be  a  long  time  in  advance,  so  that  the  young 
people  did  not  have  much  to  do  with  it. 

"When  the  matter  was  decided  on,  then  presents  were  ex- 
changed, the  young  man  usually  sending  a  piece  of  handsome 

'Bacon,  Japanese  girls  and  women,  121. 

' ,  Manners  and  customs  of  the  Japanese,  127. 


The  Child  in  Japan  135 

silk,  used  for  the  ohi  or  girdle,  which  corresponded  to  the 
engagement-ring  of  Europe  and  America,  but  sometimes  the 
young  man  sent  other  presents,  and  because  of  which  a  hand- 
some daughter  was  considered  rather  an  addition  to  the  for- 
tune of  a  family.  A  formal  betrothal  was  then  entered  into, 
and  a  lucky  day  found  for  the  wedding. 

Just  before  the  wedding,  generally  on  the  morning  of  the 
wedding-day,  the  bride's  trousseau  and  the  household  goods, 
which  the  bride  was  expected  to  take  with  her,  were  sent  to 
the  house  of  the  bridegroom.  These  varied  according  with 
the  rank  and  position  and  wealth  of  the  bride's  family.  The 
trousseau  would  contain  dresses  for  all  seasons  and  sashes  of 
all  kinds,  and  since  fashion  unchanged  a  woman  might  enter 
her  husband 's  home  with  a  supply  of  clothing  that  could  last 
her  through  a  lifetime. 

As  in  old  times  the  wedding  ceremony  occurred  in  the 
afternoon,  toward  noon  there  was  a  bridal  procession  from 
the  bride's  home  to  the  home  of  the  bridegroom.  The  bride 
was  seated  in  a  palanquin,  clothed  and  veiled  in  white,  es- 
corted by  two  bridesmaids,  and  accompanied  by  relatives, 
neighbors,  and  friends,  the  men  all  in  their  dress  of  cere- 
mony and  the  women  in  their  gayest  robes.  When  the  pro- 
cession reached  the  bridegroom's  home,  the  bride  was  es- 
corted by  the  bridesmaids  into  the  room  of  state,  where  sat 
the  bridegroom  in  the  post  of  honor,  surrounded  by  parents 
and  nearest  relatives. 

When  the  real  ceremony  was  performed  there  were  present 
the  bridegroom  and  his  parents,  the  bride  and  her  parents, 
a  few  of  the  most  intimate  relatives  or  friends,  and  the  cup- 
bearers, perhaps  not  over  a  dozen  people  in  all.  There  was 
no  religious  ceremony,  no  words  were  spoken,  no  promises, 
no  vows,  no  prayer.  When  all  was  ready,  the  wedding-cup, 
a  two-spouted  cup,  was  filled  by  a  young  girl  with  native 
wine  (sake)  and  presented  to  the  mouths  of  the  bride  and 
groom  alternately,  till  all  was  drank  by  them,  being  a  symbol 
as  husband  and  wife  of  the  equal  sharing  of  their  joys  and 
sorroAVs  of  married  life.  Then  the  young  couple  arose  and 
offered  cups  of  sake  to  their  parents,  after  which  the  bride 
removed  her  veil,  and  the  ceremony  was  ended.  Then  the 
wedding-guests,  who  had  been  in  other  rooms  during  the 
ceremony,  joined  the  wedding-party  and  all  partook  of  a 
feast  prepared  for  the  occasion,  with  the  mirth  and  joy  that 


136  The  Historical  Child 

usually  accompany  weddings  among  all  peoples  and  in  all 
times. 

On  the  third  day  after  the  wedding,  the  newly-married 
couple  were  expected  to  make  a  visit  to  the  bride's  family. 
The  bride's  family  prepared  a  dinner  for  the  occasion,  with 
music  and  dancing  by  professional  performers,  and  other 
entertainment.  A  large  number  of  the  relatives  and  friends 
were  invited  and  the  bride  appeared  as  hostess  with  her 
mother.  Within  the  course  of  two  or  three  months,  the  newly 
married  couple  were  expected  to  entertain  either  in  their 
own  home,  the  home  of  the  bridegroom's  parents,  or  at  a 
tea-house. 

"There  are  wedded  couples  who  labor  and  save  heroically 
for  years,  in  order  to  pay  the  expenses  of  their  marriage 
festival.  There  is  one  rather  amusing  custom,  however, 
whereby  this  expense  may  be  avoided.  A  couple  of  respect- 
able people  have  a  daughter,  who  is  acquainted  with  a  good 
young  fellow  who  would  be  an  excellent  husband  for  her, 
except  that  he  lacks  the  necessary  means  to  give  her  the 
customary  wedding-presents  and  keep  a  free  table  for  a  M'eek, 
for  the  two  families.  The  parents,  coming  home  from  the 
bath  one  fine  evening,  do  not  find  their  daughter  at  home. 
They  inquire  in  the  neighborhood ;  nobody  has  seen  her, 
but  all  the  neighbors  offer  their  services  in  assisting  to  find 
her.  The  parents  accept  the  offer,  and  the  procession,  con- 
stantly increasing  in  numbers,  passes  from  street  to  street, 
until  it  reaches  the  dwelling  of  the  lover.  The  latter,  pro- 
tected by  his  closed  screens,  in  vain  pretends  to  be  deaf; 
he  is  at  last  obliged  to  yield  to  the  demands  of  the  crowd. 
He  opens  the  door,  and  the  lost  daughter,  in  tears,  throws 
herself  at  the  feet  of  her  parents,  who  threaten  her  with 
their  malediction. 

"Then,  the  tender-hearted  neighbors,  moved  by  the  scene, 
intercede;  the  mother  relents;  the  father,  remains  haughty 
and  inexorable;  the  intercession  of  the  neighbors  increases  in 
eloquence,  and  the  young  man  promises  to  be  the  most  faith- 
ful of  sons-in-law.  Finally,  the  resistance  of  the  father  is 
overcome;  he  pardons  his  daughter,  pardons  the  lover,  and 
calls  the  latter  his  son.  All  at  once,  as  if  by  magic,  cups 
of  sake  circulate  among  the  crowd;  everyone  takes  his  or 
her  place  on  the  matting  of  the  room ;  the  two  outlaws  are 
seated  in  the  midst  of  the  circle,  drink  their  bowl  of  sake 
together,  the  marriage  is  proclaimed  in  the  presence  of  a 


The  Child  in  Japa/n  137 

sufficient  number  of  witnesses,  and  the  police  officer  enters 
it  upon  his  list  the  next  morning."® 

There  is  another  side  of  Japanese  marriage,  where  the 
young  man  enters  the  home  of  the  bride.  If  in  a  family 
there  was  no  son  to  inherit  the  name  and  no  son  was  adopted, 
upon  the  eldest  daughter's  coming  of  age,  her  family  would 
seek  some  young  man  who  would  be  willing  to  marry  the 
daughter  and  give  up  his  own  name  and  take  that  of  the 
family.  The  young  men  were  usually  attracted  to  such  a 
marriage  because  thereby  they  could  inherit  wealth  or  rank 
or  both,  but  sometimes  such  was  entered  upon  solely  on  ac- 
count of  the  attractiveness  of  the  young  lady. 

It  is  a  question  whether  polygamy  in  itself  ever  existed 
in  Japan,  but  there  is  no  question  about  concubinage,  as 
it  began  at  an  early  time,  for  the  Emperor  was  allowed 
twelve  supplementary  wives  and  the  nobles  (samurai)  two. 
It  seems  from  the  earliest  there  was  one  legal  wife,  and 
whatever  the  other  women  were  they  were  subservient  to  her. 
But  concubinage  did  not  prevail  very  much  among  the  mid- 
dle and  lower  classes,  and  with  the  upper  classes  only  with 
the  wealthier  members.  These  concubnies  were  kept  in  the 
home  unless  the  legal  wife  was  strong  enough  to  keep  them 
out,  when  they  were  furnished  separate  dwellings.  They  were 
ever  a  discordant  element  in  the  life  of  the  family.  Since 
both  Shintoism  and  Confucianism  called  for  ancestral  wor- 
ship, where  there  were  no  offspring  by  the  legal  wife,  this 
might  call  for  concubinage  to  raise  up  children,  and  some- 
times where  there  was  no  heir,  the  wife  might  for  that  cause 
urge  the  husband  to  take  a  handmaid  to  raise  up  sons  to 
preserve  the  ancestral  line.  If  the  child  of  a  concubine  was 
adopted  into  the  family,  it  was  taken  from  the  mother  and 
she  became  no  more  to  it  than  any  other  of  the  servants  and 
had  no  more  to  do  with  it  than  they  did. 

During  feudalism  in  Japan,  the  legal  status  of  women  was 
very  low.  They  had  no  legal  rights  and  their  evidence  was 
not  admitted  in  a  court  of  justice.  The  husband  had  un- 
limited power  of  divorce,  but  under  no  circumstances  could 
a  wife  demand  to  be  separated  from  her  husband,  but  she  had 
to  abide  his  will.  A  great  reason  for  a  wife  suffering  much 
and  not  leaving  her  husband  was  that  the  children  belonged 
to  him  and  in  case  of  a  separation  their  disposal  rested  abso- 
lutely with  him. 

*  Taylor,  Japan  in  our  day,  148. 


138  The  Historical  Child 

"Seven  causes  for  justifiable  divorce  are  laid  down  in  the 
classics  of  Confucius,  which  are  the  basis  of  legal  morals  in 
Japan  as  in  China,  or  as  those  of  Justinian  are  with  us. 
The   wife  may   be   divorced: 

1.  If  she  be  disobedient  to  her  parents-in-law.  (After 
marriage,  in  her  husband's  home,  his  parents  become  hers 
in  a  far  more  significant  sense  than  among  us.) 

2.  If  she  be  barren.  (If  the  husband  loves  his  childless 
wife,  he  keeps  and  supports  her.) 

3.  If  she  be  lewd  or  licentious.  (She  must  not  be  given 
to  loose  talk  or  wine.  It  is  not  proper  for  her  even  to  write 
a  letter  to  any  other  man.) 

4.  If  she  be  jealous  (of  other  women's  clothes,  or  children, 
or  especially  of  her  husband). 

5.  If  she  have  a  loathsome  or  contagious  disease.  (If 
dearly  beloved,  she  may  be  kept  in  a  separate  room  and 
cared  for.) 

6.  If  she  steal. 

7.  If  she  talk  too  much. 

"It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  seventh  and  last  reason  is 
the  one  frequently  availed  of,  or  pretended.  The  Japanese 
think  it  is  a  good  rule  that  works  but  one  way.  The  husband 
is  not  divorced  from  the  wife  for  these  equal  reasons.  Of 
course,  woman  in  Japan,  by  her  tact,  tongue,  graces,  and 
charms,  is  able  to  rule  her  husband  generally  by  means  in- 
visible to  the  outer  world,  but  none  the  less  potent.  Though 
man  holds  the  sword,  the  pen,  and  divorce,  and  glories  in 
his  power,  yet  woman,  by  her  finer  strength,  in  hut  as  in 
palace  hall,  rules  her  lord."^° 

The  Mother's  Memorial.  "A  sight  not  often  met  with  in 
the  cities,  but  in  the  suburbs  and  country  places  frequent  as 
the  cause  of  it  requires,  is  the  nagare  Jean  jo  (flowing  invo- 
cation). A  piece  of  cotton  cloth  is  suspended  by  its  four 
comers  to  stakes  set  in  the  ground  near  a  brook,  rivulet,  or, 
if  in  the  city,  at  the  side  of  the  water-course  which  fronts 
the  houses  of  the  better  classes.  Behind  it  rises  a  higher, 
lath-like  board,  notched  several  times  near  the  top,  and  in- 
scribed with  a  brief  legend.  Resting  on  the  cloth  at  the 
brookside,  or,  if  in  the  city,  in  a  pail  of  water,  is  a  wooden 
dipper.  Perhaps  upon  the  four  corners,  in  the  upright 
bamboo,  may  be  set  bouquets  of  flowers.  A  careless  stranger 
may  not  notice  the  odd  thing,  but  a  little  study  of  its  parts 

^"Griffis,  The  Mikado's  empire,  II,  557. 


The  Child  in  Japan  139 

reveals  the  symbolism  of  death.  The  tall  lath  tablet  is  the 
same  as  that  set  behind  graves  and  tombs.  The  ominous 
Sanskrit  letters  betoken  death.  Even  the  flowers  in  their 
bloom  call  to  mind  the  tributes  of  affectionate  remembrance 
which  loving  survivors  set  in  the  sockets  of  the  monuments 
in  the  grave-yards.  On  the  cloth  is  written  a  name  such  as  is 
given  to  persons  after  death,  and  the  prayer,  'Namu  mid,  ho 
ren  ge  kid'  (Glory  to  the  salvation-bringing  Scriptures). 
Waiting  long  enough,  perchance  but  a  few  minutes,  there 
may  be  seen  a  passer-by  who  pauses,  and,  devoutly  offering 
a  prayer  with  the  aid  of  his  rosary,  reverently  dips  a  ladleful 
of  water,  pours  it  upon  the  cloth,  and  waits  patiently  until 
it  has  strained  through,  before  moving  on. 

''All  this,  when  the  significance  is  understood,  is  very 
touching.  It  is  the  story  of  vicarious  suffering,  of  sorrow 
from  the  brink  of  joy,  of  one  dying  that  another  may  live. 
It  tells  of  mother-love  and  mother-woe.  It  is  a  mute  appeal 
to  every  passer-by,  by  the  love  of  Heaven,  to  shorten  the 
penalties  of  a  soul  in  pain. 

"The  Japanese  (Buddhists)  believe  that  all  calamity  is  the 
result  of  sin  either  in  this  or  a  previous  state  of  existence. 
The  mother  who  dies  in  childbed  suffers,  by  such  a  death,  for 
some  awful  transgression,  it  may  be  in  a  cycle  of  existence 
long  since  passed.  For  it  she  must  leave  her  new-born  infant, 
in  the  full  raptures  of  mother- joy,  and  sink  into  the  darkness 
of  Hades,  to  wallow  in  a  lake  of  blood.  There  must  she 
gi'oan  and  suffer  until  the  'flowing  invocation'  ceases,  by 
the  wearing-out  of  the  symbolic  cloth.  When  this  is  so  utterly 
worn  that  the  water  no  longer  drains,  but  falls  through  at 
once,  the  freed  spirit  of  the  mother,  purged  of  her  sin,  rises 
to  resurrection  among  the  exalted  beings  of  a  higher  cycle 
of  existence.  Devout  men,  as  they  pass  by,  reverently  pour  a 
ladleful  of  water.  Women,  especially  those  who  have  felt 
mother-pains,  and  who  rejoice  in  life  and  loving  offspring, 
repeat  the  expiatory  act  with  deeper  feeling;  but  the  depths 
of  sympathy  are  fathomed  only  by  those  who,  being  mothers, 
are  yet  bereaved.  Yet,  as  in  the  presence  of  nature's  awful 
glories  the  reverent  gazer  is  shocked  by  the  noisy  impor- 
tunity of  the  beggar,  so  before  this  sad  and  touching  me- 
morial the  proofs  of  sordid  priestcraft  chill  the  warm  sym- 
pathy which  the  sight  even  from  the  heart  of  an  alien  might 
evoke. 

"The  cotton  cloth  inscribed  with  the  prayer  and  the  name 


140  The  Historical  Child 

of  the  deceased,  to  be  efficacious,  can  be  purebased  only  at 
the  temples.  I  have  been  told,  and  it  is  no  secret,  that  rich 
people  are  able  to  secure  a  napkin  which,  when  stretched 
but  a  few  days,  will  rupture,  and  let  the  water  pass  through 
at  once.  The  poor  man  can  get  only  the  stoutest  and  most 
closely  woven  fabric.  The  limit  of  purgatorial  penance  is 
thus  fixed  by  warp  and  woof,  and  warp  and  woof  are  gauged 
by  money.  The  rich  man's  napkin  is  scraped  thin  in  the 
middle.  Nevertheless,  the  poor  mother  secures  a  richer  trib- 
ute of  sympathy  from  her  humble  people ;  for  in  Japan,  as 
in  other  lands,  poverty  has  many  children,  while  wealth 
mourns  for  heirs;  and  in  the  lowly  walks  of  life  are  more 
pitiful  women  who  have  felt  the  woe  and  the  joy  of  mother- 
hood than  in  the  mansions  of  the  rich."^^ 

Dress.  The  ordinary  dress  of  both  sexes  in  Japan  in  the 
older  times  was  quite  similar  but  differed  in  color  and  tex- 
ture. It  consisted  of  a  number  of  loose,  wide  gowns  worn 
over  each  other,  fastened  at  the  waist  with  a  girdle.  The 
family  arms  were  woven  or  worked  into  the  back  and  breast 
of  the  outer  garment.  The  sleeves  of  the  garments  were  wide 
and  long.  Within  doors  the  feet  were  bare  or  covered  with 
socks  and  outdoors  clogs  of  straw,  matting,  or  wood  were 
worn,  kept  on  the  feet  by  an  upright  pin  or  button  held 
between  the  two  large  toes. 

The  men  shaved  the  front  and  crown  of  the  head,  leaving 
a  sort  of  tuft  on  top;  the  boys'  head  was  shaved  in  different 
ways,  but  at  fifteen  the  boy's  hair  was  dressed  exactly  like 
a  mature  man,  because  then  he  attained  his  majority.  .  Among 
the  women  the  hair  was  worn  long  but  arranged  differently 
for  a  married  woman  than  a  young  girl,  and,  too,  the  married 
women  removed  the  hair  of  the  eyebrows. 

The  infant  was  free  from  swathing;  at  three  its  clothes 
was  bound  at  the  waist  with  a  girdle.  At  seven  or  later  the 
boy  of  noble  birth  wore  a  short  sword  in  his  girdle  which  at 
fifteen,  when  he  became  a  man,  he  would  exchange  for  the 
two  swords  of  the  samurai. 

Regulations.  During  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years — 
sixteenth-nineteenth  centuries — when  Japan  was  cut  off  from 
all  outside  people,  the  strictest  economy  was  necessary  for 
the  nation  to  be  able  to  care  for  itself.  To  this  end  regu- 
lations were  laid  down  to  which  the  different  classes  had  to 
adhere  closely.     These  were  binding  and  must  have  proved 

^  Griffis,  The  Mikado 's  empire,  I,  169. 


The  Child  in  Japan  141 

irksome,  yet  they  preserved  the  nation.     It  seems  well  to 
give  some  of  the  regulations  her. 

* '  The  following  are  examples,  first,  of  the  rules  applying  to 
the  hung  en  (station  in  life)  of  a  farmer  of  seventy-five  to 
one  hundred  kohu  ($375  to  $500),  and,  second,  to  that  of  a 
common  farm-laborer: 

I.     For  a  Farmer  of  100  Koku. 

1.  Such  a  farmer  may  build  a  house  whose  length  is  ten 
ken  (about  sixty  feet),  but  there  must  be  no  parlor  (zashiki), 
and  the  roof  must  not  be  tiled.  If  the  householder  wishes 
to  tile  the  roof,  to  protect  it  against  fires,  he  must  first  get 
permission. 

2.  On  the  occasion  of  a  marriage  of  a  son  or  daughter,  the 
gifts  of  the  householder  must  be  limited  to  the  following: 

Two  nagamochi  (a  chest  used  for  bed-clothes). 
One  tansu  (a  chest  of  drawers). 
One  tsuzura  (a  vine  used  in  basket  making). 
One  hasami-hako  (a  case  for  scissors). 
A  yuino  ohi   (a  present,  usually  the  sash  called  obi,  ex- 
changed at  the  time  of  the  wedding). 
One  sejisu  (a  fan). 
One  taru  (a  vessel  containing  wine). 
Surume  (a  kind  of  fish). 
Eodu  (a  kind  of  seaweed). 
Tai  (a  kind  of  fish,  used  on  occasions  of  ceremony). 

3.  The  viands  on  the  wedding-day  must  be  as  follows : 

(1)  Zoni-ziiimono  (a  kind  of  soup). 

(2)  The   things   placed   on  the   honzen    (a  small   table)  : 

(a)  in  the  hira  (one  of  the  dishes),  namasu  (a  kind  of  fish)  ; 

(b)  in  the  choku    (the  other  dish),  something  roasted  or 
broiled. 

(3)  Rikimono  (viands  taken  home  by  each  guest)  :  (a) 
suinwno  (soup),  two  kinds;  (b)  iorimano  (a  liquid),  two 
kinds;  (c)  hikigashi  (a  kind  of  cake).  These  three  kinds  al- 
together must  not  make  more  than  a  small  amount. 

4.  The  family  must  never  wear  silk  clothes.  If  a  son  or 
a  daughter  is  to  marry  a  person  whose  station  allows  the  use 
of  silk,  the  householder  must  request  him  not  to  use  it  on 
the  occasion  of  the  wedding. 

5.  No  guests  should  be  invited  other  than  relations  of  the 
family,  ko-hun  (people  who  are  under  obligations  to  the 
householder  for  kindness  received,  and  stand  in  the  place  of 


142  The  Historical  Child 

children),  and  a  few  of  the  most  intimate  friends.    But  this 
rule  refers  only  to  the  day  of  the  wedding. 

6.  At  a  wedding  or  New  Year's  call,  the  use  of  ju 
(lacquer  boxes,  containing  confectionery,  given  as  presents) 
is  forbidden. 

7.  When  a  member  of  the  family  makes  a  visit  to  a  rela- 
tion or  elsewhere,  he  should  not  carry  valuable  presents. 
When  he  is  visiting  a  sick  friend,  he  may  take  anything 
which  happens  to  be  at  hand. 

8.  When  there  is  death  (fuko),  and  people  come  to  the 
house  on  visits  of  condolence,  no  wine  should  be  offered. 

9.  At  a  funeral  (hutsuji)  wine  should  not  be  offered  to 
the  persons  who  follow  to  the  grave. 

10.  On  such  occasions,  the  viands  should  be  of  five  kinds 
only;  but  there  should  be  no  wine.  If  wine  is  offered,  it 
should  be  given  in  soup-cups,  not  in  wine-cups,  nor  should 
tori-zahana  (a  dish  served  only  with  wine)  be  prepared. 

11.  On  the  occasion  of  the  birth  of  a  first  child  (Uizan), 
the  presents  from  the  grandparents  should  be  as  follows 
only: 

A  cotton  garment. 
One  set  (four  boxes)  of  jU. 
One  taru. 
Viands. 

From  the  other  relations  only  small  money-presents,  if 
any  should  be  sent. 

12.  When  the  child  is  taken  to  the  miira  (village)  temple 
(the  occasion  called  miya-mairi) ,  ju  may  be  offered  to  the 
grandparents,  but  not  to  others. 

13.  At  the  time  of  hatsu-bina  (girls'  festival),  and  hatsu- 
nobori  (boys'  festival),  grandparents  and  other  relations 
should  not  present  hina  and  nohori  (dolls  and  flags),  the 
whole  family  should  present  a  single  kami-ndbGri  (paper- 
flag)  and  two  yari  (spears),  and  relatives  may  also  make 
small  money-presents. 

II.     For  the  Bungen  of  a  Farm-laborer. 

1.  The  house  may  be  five  and  a  half  ken  (about  thirty- 
two  feet)  in  length,  and  the  roof  should  be  of  straw  or  bamboo 
thatch. 

2.  The  presents  at  a  wedding  may  be: 

One  tsu  zura  (a  vine  used  in  basket  making). 
Nagamochi  (chests)  are  forbidden. 


The  Child  in  Japan  143 

3.  At  entertainments,  one  hira  (dish)  and  one  soup  may 
be  offered,  but  not  in  cups. 

4.  The  collar  and  sleeve  ends  of  the  clothes  may  be  orna- 
mented with  silk,  and  an  oM  (belt)  of  silk  or  silk  crepe  may 
be  worn,  but  not  in  public. 

5.  Hair  ornaments  should  consist  of  norihiki  and  motoi, 
and  nothing  more. 

6.  Footwear  should  be  narazori  (sandals  made  at  Nara) 
not  setta  (sandals  of  iron  and  leather).  "Women  are  to  wear 
bamboo-thonged  sandals  ordinarily,  but  at  occasions  of  cere- 
mony sandals  with  cotton  thongs;  men  should  wear  only 
bamboo-thonged  sandals  on  all  occasions. 

7.  At  the  time  of  TJizan  (birth  of  first  child)  the  grand- 
parents may  send  two  ju  (set  of  confectionery  boxes),  and 
money  for  rice  and  fish;  other  relations  should  send  only 
money  for  fish, 

8.  At  the  time  of  hatsu^nobori,  the  grandparents  may 
present  a  yari  (spear),  and  at  the  time  of  hatsu-hina  a  kami- 
l)i7ia  (paper  doll),  or  tsuchi-ningyo  (earthen  doll). 

"Accompanying  these  specific  regulations,  made  with  care- 
ful reference  to  each  man's  station  in  life,  there  were  also 
general  rules  to  meet  unspecified  contingencies.  For  ex- 
ample, only  in  case  of  absolute  necessity  could  an  umbrella 
be  used  by  the  ordinary  laborer.  He  must  usually  content 
himself  with  the  protection  of  a  straw  raincoat.  Another 
provision  related  to  costly  articles  which  a  family  might 
happen  to  have.     Special  permission  was  necessary  to  make 

use  of  them,  and  no  articles  of  luxury  were  to  be  used  if  on 
hand.  "12 

The  Care  of  Children.  The  birth  of  a  child  among  the 
Japanese  was  a  cause  of  rejoicing,  a  boy  being  somewhat 
more  welcome  than  a  girl.  At  the  birth  of  a  child,  a  special 
messenger  was  sent  to  notify  relatives  and  intimate  friends, 
who  must  soon  visit  the  baby  and  take  it  presents,  and  es- 
pecially so  if  it  was  the  first  in  the  family.  Yet  infanticide 
was  not  uncommon,  for  poverty  sometimes  decided  against 
the  infant,  and  this  also  might  be  true  of  a  child  bom 
maimed  or  deformed.  "In  old  days,  when  the  new-bom 
child  was  laid  at  the  father's  feet,  the  father  could  refuse 
to  take  it,  and  the  child  was  then  exposed  to  die  in  a  bamboo- 
grove.  The  custom  exists  no  longer;  I  doubt  whether  it  ever 
prevailed  to  any  very  great  extent,  but  it  has  left  behind  it  a 

"Knapp,  Feudal  and  modern  Japan,  I,  109-115. 


144  The  Historical  Child 

very  picturesque  reminder.  If  parents  have  lost  a  child  by 
death,  they  often,  not  perhaps  unnaturally,  look  upon  their 
loss  as  the  visitation  of  an  angry  Heaven,  which  must  need 
be  propitiated  by  the  free-will  offering  up  of  the  next  bom 
child.  So  when  the  next  child  is  born  it  is  taken  to  the 
bamboo-grove  and  left  by  its  parents.  The  exposure  is,  how- 
ever, nothing  very  serious ;  a  friend  of  the  family  is  waiting 
round  the  corner  for  the  weeping  parents  to  abandon  their 
infant,  and  a  few  minutes  afterwards  he  comes  in,  quite  as 
if  it  were  by  accident,  and  tells  the  bereaved  couple  that  he 
has  just  picked  up  a  fine,  handsome  baby  boy  (or  girl),  which 
he  hopes  they  will  take  and  rear.  Thus  the  anger  of  Heaven 
has  been,  figuratively  at  least,  averted,  and  the  baby  is  known 
in  after  life  by  the  word  side  ('abandoned')  prefixed  to  his 
personal  name.  He  is  known  as  sutejiro  or  sutesahuro,  as 
the  case  may  be  ('the  abandoned  second  son'  or  'the  aban- 
doned third')."  13 

The  baby's  dress  was  loose  and  easily  put  on,  so  it  was 
soon  dressed.  The  dresses  were  made  like  the  kimono  of  the 
mother,  being  wide-sleeved  and  straight,  silk,  cotton,  or  flan- 
nel, as  the  season  demanded,  and  long  enough  to  cover  the 
feet  and  hands.  Red  and  yellow  were  the  colors  of  the  young 
baby's  dress,  and  if  a  girl  high  colors  prevailed  later,  but  a 
boy's  clothing  became  subdued  in  color.  Near  the  one  hun- 
dredth day  of  the  child's  life,  long  dresses  were  left  off 
and  also  about  the  same  time  it  w^as  weaned.  The  baby's 
head  was  kept  shaved  bald  until  it  was  three  years  of  age, 
when  only  a  part  of  it  was  shaved;  it  might  all  be  shaved 
but  a  tuft  on  top,  or  tufts  at  the  side,  or  bare  on  top  and 
encircling  the  head  at  the  sides,  just  as  the  mother  might 
wish.  "There  is  no  limit  set  to  the  whimsical  mother's  taste 
in  this  matter  of  tonsorial  landscape  gardening. ' '  ^^ 

Since  the  Japanese  sat  on  the  floor  with  their  legs  under 
them,  the  baby  was  placed  on  the  floor  with  its  knees  bent 
under  it,  which  trained  it  to  the  right  way  of  sitting.  The 
baby  in  learning  to  walk  did  not  have  chairs  and  the  like 
to  bump  against  and  fall  over  and  it  had  soft-matted  floors 
to  bump  down  upon  without  injury.  It  was  quite  note- 
worthy if  the  baby  of  his  own  accord  should  walk  before  its 
first  birthday,  and  mochi  (rice  pastry)  was  made  to  cele- 
brate the  auspicious  event.    "When  the  baby  went  outdoors, 

"Lloyd,  Every-day  Japan,  324. 
"Scherer,  Young  Japan,  48. 


The  Child  in  Japan  145 

then  its  feet  were  hampered  by  sandals  or  clogs  fastened  to 
the  feet  by  straps  passing  between  the  toes,  but  he  soon 
learned  to  use  them  all  right,  so  that  babies  of  two  or  three 
could  get  around  all  right  in  these  clogs.  One  good  thing, 
these  clogs  did  not  bind  the  children's  feet,  but  let  them 
grow  naturally.  These  clogs  left  the  toes  of  the  Japanese 
children  free  and  thus  they  retained  some  of  their  pre- 
hensive  powers  so  that  in  adult  life  the  feet  were  still  used 
somewhat  for  holding  and  grasping.  It  would  seem  that  the 
baby  learned  to  talk  some  earlier  than  in  other  countries,  as 
the  Japanese  language  is  conducive  for  such  since  it  abounds 
in  expressions  easy  for  children. 

Naming  Children.  On  the  seventh  day,  some  authors  say 
the  thirteenth,  the  child  received  its  name,  at  which  time 
very  little  ceremony  took  place ;  at  seven  years  of  age  this 
name  gave  way  to  another  name ;  which  occurred  again  upon 
reaching  his  majority  at  fifteen.  When  he  married  he  re- 
ceived another  name;  again  he  was  given  a  new  name  if  he 
took  office ;  another  new  name  came  if  promoted ;  and,  finally, 
after  death,  he  received  his  last  name,  which  was  engraved 
upon  his  tomb. 

Carrying  Children.  The  babies  were  carried  upon  the  back 
of  some  member  of  the  family,  quite  often  an  older  brother 
or  sister  and  sometimes  these  were  not  over  five  or  six  years 
of  age.  The  baby  was  tied  upon  the  back  of  the  one  carrying 
it,  face  front,  head  and  feet  out,  and  even  in  quite  cold 
weather.  The  babies  soon  learned  to  hold  on  and  thus  they 
looked  out  for  themselves  so  as  not  to  be  dropped  by  the 
one  carrying  them.  "The  mother  bears  the  bairns,  but  the 
children  carry  them.  Each  preceding  child,  as  it  grows  older, 
must  lug  the  succeeding  baby  on  its  back  till  able  to  stand. 
The  rearing  of  a  Japanese  poor  family  is  a  perpetual  game 
of  leap-frog."" 

Adoption  and  Inheritance.  There  was  a  great  desire,  espe- 
cially in  feudal  times,  to  have  a  male  heir  to  keep  up  the 
ancestral  line,  which  otherwise  would  be  a  disgrace  to  the 
family.  There  being  no  male  heir,  it  might  be  that  a  son 
would  be  adopted  in  early  life  to  grow  up  as  the  heir,  or 
he  might  be  adopted  with  the  idea  of  his  marrying  one  of 
the  daughters  later,  or  there  might  be  no  formal  adoption 
but  a  young  man  would  marry  a  daughter  and  give  up  his 
own  name  and  take  that  of  the  family  and  thus  become  the 

"  Griffis,  The  Mikado  'b  empire,  II,  356. 


146  The  Historical  Child 

heir.  The  childless  wife,  if  not  divorced,  would  often  care 
for  the  adopted  child  as  if  her  own,  which  care  would  be 
reciprocated  by  the  adopted  son  in  her  old  age.  In  feudal 
times,  in  case  a  man  should  die  leaving  no  children,  either 
natural  or  adopted,  his  death  was  concealed  till  the  lord  gave 
permission  for  him  to  adopt  a  son,  and  not  till  then  was 
his  death  announced,  for  otherwise  the  lands  escheated  to  the 
lord. 

Power  and  Duty  of  Father.  As  in  Rome,  the  family  was 
the  unit  in  feudal  times  in  Japan,  and  the  head  of  the  family 
held  complete  power.  He  had  the  full  control  of  the  per- 
sons and  property  of  his  children  and  he  could  do  with  them 
as  he  chose,  only  being  held  back  by  that  most  binding  of 
all  laws — custom.  Yet,  as  he  had  great  power,  so  had  he 
great  responsibilities,  as  he  was  responsible  to  the  state  for 
the  doings  of  his  family. 

Amusements.  Old  Japan  was  a  realm  of  sports.  It  was  a 
nation  of  players.  There  seemed  not  to  have  been  any  dis- 
tinct line  of  demarcation  between  the  amusements  of  the 
children  and  those  of  the  adults.  The  grown-up  people  en- 
tered with  zest  into  games  which  were  in  many  cases  the 
same  and  in  many  others  similar  to  the  games  of  the  young 
people.  There  were  numerous  holidays  and  festivals,  on 
which  days  the  whole  nation  of  people  seemed  to  give  them- 
selves over  to  the  toy-sellers  and  showmen  and  story-tellers 
and  musicians  and  games  and  plays — to  a  time  of  general 
enjoyment.  Perhaps  there  was  never  any  other  people  or 
country  in  the  entire  world  at  any  time  that  took  as  much 
interest  in  the  pleasures  of  their  children  as  did  the  old 
Japanese. 

AVhen  the  evenings  were  pleasant  they  were  spent  out- 
of-doors,  and  on  pleasant  moonlight  evenings  almost  the  en- 
tire population  of  a  town  would  be  on  its  streets.  At  other 
times  the  evenings  would  be  spent  in  the  home,  the  entire 
family  being  together,  including  the  grandparents  and  even 
the  servants.  Sometimes  the  father  would  tell  stories  of 
Japanese  history  and  of  folk-lore,  sometimes  they  would  play 
chess  and  checkers,  but  the  greatest  time  was  spent  with 
cards.  One  such  game  was  known  as  "The  poems  of  a  hun- 
dred poets."  On  one  card  was  written  the  half  of  one  hun- 
dred famous  Japanese  poems  and  the  other  half  on  another 
card,  half  of  these  cards  being  distributed  among  the  players 
and  the  other  half  being  given  to  a  reader.     The  reader 


The  Child  in  Japan  147 

would  call  off  the  half  of  one  poem  and  the  one  having  the 
other  half  would  call  back  and  this  would  continue  till  all 
the  cards  were  matched.  There  was  dancing  of  evenings, 
usually  by  the  young  women,  sometimes  by  the  men,  but, 
perhaps,  never  by  men  and  women  together.  In  some  places 
of  moonlight  nights  the  young  people  would  dance  all  night 
in  the  streets  or  open  places  near  the  castle-gates. 

"Among  the  ghostly  games  intended  to  test  the  courage 
of,  or  perhaps  to  frighten,  children,  are  two  plays  called, 
respectively,  'Hiyaku  Monogatari'  and  '  Kon-dameshi, '  or  the 
'One  Hundred  Stories'  and  'Soul-examination.'  In  the 
former  play  a  company  of  boys  and  girls  assemble  round  the 
hibachi,  while  they,  or  an  adult,  an  aged  person  or  a  servant, 
usually  relate  ghost-stories,  or  tales  calculated  to  straighten 
the  hair  and  make  the  blood  crawl.  In  a  distant  dark  room, 
a  lamp  (the  usual  dish  of  oil),  with  a  wick  of  one  hundred 
strands  or  piths,  is  set.  At  the  conclusion  of  each  story,  the 
children  in  turn  must  go  to  the  dark  room  and  remove  a 
strand  of  the  wick.  As  the  lamp  burns  down  low,  the  room 
becomes  gloomy  and  dark,  and  the  last  boy,  it  is  said,  always 
sees  a  demon,  a  huge  face,  or  something  terrible.  In  the 
'Kon-dameshi,'  or  'Soul-examination,'  a  number  of  boys, 
during  the  day  plant  some  flags  in  different  parts  of  a  grave- 
yard, under  a  lonely  tree,  or  by  a  haunted  hillside.  At  night, 
they  meet  together,  and  tell  stories  about  ghosts,  goblins, 
devils,  etc. ;  and  at  the  conclusion  of  each  tale,  when  the 
imagination  is  wrought  up,  the  hair  begins  to  rise  and  the 
marrow  to  curdle,  the  boys,  one  at  a  time,  must  go  out  in  the 
dark  and  bring  back  the  flags,  until  all  are  brought  in."  ^^ 

The  children  had  plenty  to  see  to  keep  them  amused. 
There  were  visits  to  the  theaters,  sometimes  the  performances 
lasted  all  day,  in  which  were  displayed  the  doings  of  histori- 
cal peoples  and  lore  heroes.  There  were  all  kinds  of  gym- 
nastic feats  and  juggling  of  various  kinds.  "At  the  fair  at 
Asakusa,  in  addition  to  the  performances  of  jugglers  of  all 
kinds,  there  are  collections  of  animals  which  have  been  taught 
to  perform  tricks — bears  of  Yezo,  spaniels  which  are  valuable 
in  proportion  to  their  ugliness,  educated  monkeys  and  goats. 
Birds  and  fish  are  also  displayed  in  great  quantities.  But 
the  most  astonishing  patience  is  manifested  by  an  old  Corean 
boatman,  who  has  trained  a  dozen  tortoises,  large  and  small, 
employing  no  other  means  to  direct  them  than  his  songs  and 
^"Griffis,  The  Mikado's  empire,  II,  460. 


148  The  Historical  Child 

a  small  metal  drum.  They  march  in  line,  execute  various 
evolutions,  and  conclude  by  climbing  upon  a  low  table,  the 
larger  ones  forming,  of  their  own  accord,  a  bridge  for  the 
smaller,  to  whom  the  feat  would  otherwise  be  impossible. 
When  they  have  all  mounted,  they  dispose  themselves  in 
three  or  four  piles  like  so  many  plates.  "^^ 

Among  the  leading  amusements  were  the  Festivals.  These 
were  of  frequent  occurrence  and  of  the  greatest  diversity,  so 
that  the  young  people  had  plenty  to  amuse  them.  There 
were  five  great  annual  Festivals,  which  were  the  Festival 
of  the  New  Year,  the  Festival  of  the  Dolls,  the  Festival  of 
the  Banners,  the  Feast  of  Lanterns,  and  the  Feast  of  Chrysan- 
themums. 

The  New  Year  Festival  occurred  on  the  first  day  of  the 
first  month  of  the  old  Japanese  year.  At  this  time  congratu- 
lations and  presents  were  much  given  and  taken.  This  was 
a  time  for  pleasure  and  all  the  members  of  the  family  laid 
aside  their  work  and  their  dignity  and  entered  into  the  fun 
and  the  sport  that  characterized  this  festival. 

The  Festival  of  the  Dolls  occurred  on  the  third  day  of 
the  third  month.  This  day  was  especially  devoted  to  the 
girls,  and  to  them  it  was  the  greatest  day  of  the  year.  All 
the  dolls  belonging  to  the  family  were  brought  out  and  which 
had  been  accumulating  in  some  families  for  hundreds  of 
years.  When  a  daughter  was  born  in  a  home,  two  images 
of  wood  or  enameled  clay  were  bought  for  her,  with  which 
she  played,  and  when  she  was  married  she  took  them  to  her 
new  home  and  kept  them  for  her  children,  as  well  as  any 
other  dolls  she  might  have.  "The  Tokugawa  collection,  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  is  remarkably  full  and  costly,  for  it 
has  been  making  for  hundreds  of  years  in  one  of  the  younger 
branches  of  a  family  which  for  two  and  a  half  centuries 
was  possessed  of  almost  imperial  power,  and  lived  in  more 
than  imperial  luxury;  but  there  are  few  households  so  poor 
that  they  do  not  from  year  to  year  accuumulate  a  little 
store  of  toys  wherewith  to  celebrate  the  feast,  and,  whether 
the  toys  are  many  or  few,  the  feast  is  the  event  of  the  year 
in  the  lives  of  the  little  girls  of  Japan.  "^^ 

On  the  fifth  day  of  the  fifth  month  was  celebrated  the 
Festival  of  the  Banners,  which  was  celebrated  in  honor  of 
the  boys,  and  it  was  to  them  the  greatest  day  in  the  year. 

"  Taylor,  Japan  in  our  day,  163. 

"  Bacon,  Japanese  girls  and  women,  31. 


The  Child  in  Japan  149 

On  this  day  all  kinds  of  military  toys  were  displayed,  such 
as  heroes,  warriors,  generals,  soldiers,  etc.  Also  there  were 
flags,  streamers,  banners,  etc.  A  set  of  these  toys  was  bought 
for  every  son  born  in  the  family.  So  as  with  the  display  of 
dolls,  in  old  Japanese  families  the  display  on  the  Feast  of 
Banners  was  very  great..  About  the  houses  and  on  poles  in 
the  yards  were  hung  long  paper  pennons  of  every  color, 
banners  with  coats  of  arras,  and  also  attached  to  a  pole  by  a 
string  was  a  paper  fish,  hollow  so  that  as  the  wind  filled  it 
out  it  would  flop  its  tail  and  fins  in  a  most  natural  way. 
This  paper  fish  was  to  show  that  a  son  had  been  born  during 
the  year  or  that  there  were  sons  in  the  family. 

The  Feast  of  Lanterns  occurred  on  the  seventh  day  of 
the  seventh  month.  On  this  occasion  the  whole  city  or  town 
was  decorated  with  lanterns.  In  some  places  little  girls 
would  go  in  crowds  through  the  streets  and  sing  with  all  their 
might  while  swinging  paper  lanterns. 

"The  fifth  festival  takes  place  on  the  ninth  day  of  the 
ninth  month,  and  is  called  the  Feast  of  Chrysanthemums. 
At  all  the  family  repasts  during  the  day,  the  leaves  of  chrys- 
anthemum flowers  are  scattered  over  the  cups  of  tea  and 
sake.  It  is  believed  that  the  libations  prepared  in  this 
manner  have  the  power  of  prolonging  life.  The  citizen  of 
Tokio  would  consider  that  he  was  wanting  in  his  duty  as  a 
good  husband  and  father,  if  he  should  partake  sparingly  of 
this  specific."  ^^ 

That  children  enjoyed  themselves  and  that  they  were  helped 
to  enjoy  themselves  was  well  shown  in  the  abundance  of 
toys  and  toy-shops  and  many  holidays  on  which  to  display 
them.  The  streets  of  the  towns  and  cities  were  full  of  toy- 
shops, where  every  kind  of  toys  imaginable  could  be  found. 
Too,  toys,  and  especially  the  religious  varieties,  were  dis- 
played for  sale  about  the  temples  on  feast  days.  There  were 
images  of  the  various  gods  and  of  implements  and  appli- 
ances used  about  the  temples.  There  were  on  the  streets 
toys  of  all  kinds  of  animals,  of  wrestlers  and  acrobats,  of 
soldiers,  etc.,  etc.  Dolls  were  one  of  the  strongest  features 
of  toy-makers  and  toy-sellers.  "Here  let  me  tell  you  some- 
thing you  certainly  never  heard  of  before  in  relation  to  Jap- 
anese dolls, — not  the  tiny  0-Iiina-San  I  was  just  speaking 
about,  but  the  beautiful  life-sized  dolls  representing  children 
of  two  or  three  years  old ;  real  toy-babes  which,  although 

"  Taylor,  Japan  in  our  day,  156, 


150  The  Historical  Child 

far  more  cheaply  and  simply  constructed  than  our  finer  kinds 
of  Western  dolls,  become,  under  the  handling  of  a  Japanese 
girl,  infinitely  more  interesting.  Such  dolls  are  well  dressed, 
and  look  so  life-like, — little  slanting  eyes,  shaven  pates, 
smiles,  and  all! — that  as  seen  from  a  short  distance  the  best 
eyes  might  be  deceived  by  them.  Therefore,  in  those  stock 
photographs  of  Japanese  life,  of  which  so  many  thousands 
are  sold  in  the  open  ports,  the  conventional  baby  on  the 
mother's  back  is  most  successfully  represented  by  a  doll. 
Even  the  camera  does  not  betray  the  substitution.  And  if 
you  see  such  a  doll,  though  held  quite  close  to  you,  being 
made  by  a  Japanese  mother  to  reach  out  its  hands,  to  move 
its  little  bare  feet,  and  to  turn  its  head,  you  would  be  almost 
afraid  to  venture  a  heavy  wager  that  it  was  only  a  doll. 
Even  after  having  closely  examined  the  thing,  you  would 
still,  I  fancy,  feel  a  little  nervous  at  being  left  alone  with  it, 
so  perfect  the  delusion  of  that  expert  handling. 

"Now  there  is  a  belief  that  some  dolls  do  actually  become 
alive. 

* '  Formerly  the  belief  was  less  rare  than  it  is  now.  Certain 
dolls  were  spoken  of  with  reverence  worthy  of  the  Kami, 
and  their  owners  were  envied  folk.  Such  a  doll  was  treated 
like  a  real  son  or  daughter:  it  was  regularly  served  with 
food;  it  had  a  bed,  and  plenty  of  nice  clothes,  and  a  name. 
If  in  the  semblance  of  a  girl,  it  was  0-Toku-San;  if  in  that 
of  a  boy,  Tokutaro-San,  It  was  thought  that  the  doll  would 
become  angry  and  cry  if  neglected,  and  that  any  ill-treat- 
ment of  it  would  bring  ill-fortune  to  the  house.  And,  more- 
over, it  was  believed  to  possess  superantural  powers  of  a 
very  high  order. 

"In  the  family  of  one  Sengoku,  a  samurai  of  Matsue, 
there  was  a  Tokutaro-San  which  had  a  local  reputation 
scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  Kishibojin, — she  to  whom  Jap- 
anese wives  pray  for  offspring.  And  childless  couples  used 
to  borrow  that  doll,  and  keep  it  for  a  time, — ministering 
unto  it, — and  furnish  it  with  new  clothes  before  gratefully 
returning  it  to  its  owners.  And  all  who  did  so,  I  am  as- 
sured, became  parents,  according  to  their  heart's  desire. 
*  Sengoku 's  doll  had  a  soul.'  There  is  even  a  legend  that 
once,  when  the  house  caught  fire,  the  Tokutaro-San  ran  out 
safely  into  the  garden  of  its  own  accord! 

"The  idea  about  such  a  doll  seems  to  be  this:  The  new 
doll  is  only  a  doll.     But  a  doll  which  is  preserved  for  a 


The  Child  in  Japan  151 

great  many  years  in  one  family,  and  is  loved  and  played  with 
by  generations  of  children,  gradually  acquires  a  soul. ' '  ^^ 

There  was  an  abundance  of  outdoor  sports  among  the  Jap- 
anese children.  Beginning  with  the  New  Year  there  came 
the  great  game  with  the  girls  of  battledore  and  shuttlecock. 
The  girls  made  a  beautiful  sight,  of  which,  no  doubt,  they 
were  aware.  With  their  gayest  dresses,  hair  arranged  in  a 
most  pleasing  way,  faces  powdered  and  lips  painted,  the 
graceful,  rhythmic  motion  of  their  bodies,  their  bright  eyes 
and  laughing  faces,  all  combined  to  make  them  and  their  sport 
a  most  attractive  scene.  Kite-flying  was  about  as  great  an 
amusement  in  Japan  as  in  China.  All  kinds  and  sizes  of  kites 
were  used.  Some  represented  birds,  others  men,  and  yet 
others  monsters.  Kite-fights  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 
A  part  of  the  kite-string  was  smeared  with  glue  and  then 
sprinkled  with  powdered  glass,  which  prepared  it  for  sawing 
another  kite-string  in  two,  thus  causing  it  to  fall  and  be- 
come the  property  of  the  one  sawing  the  string.  To  make 
the  fight  the  more  realistic,  at  the  top  of  the  frame  of  the 
kite  was  set  a  piece  of  whalebone,  which  in  vibrating  in  the 
wind  made  the  most  blood-curdling  howls.  Also  contests  in 
tops  were  held,  in  which  it  was  the  aim  to  damage  one 
another's  tops  and  stop  the  spinning.  There  was  leaping 
and  running  and  jumping  and  wrestling  and  slinging.  They 
played  blind-man's-buff,  prisoner's  base,  and  pussy  wants  a 
corner,  but  in  these  last  two  instead  of  the  officer  and  Puss, 
the  oni,  or  devil,  was  the  chief  performer.  They  had  stilts 
and  handled  them  so  well  as  to  play  games  on  them  and 
run  races.  Where  there  was  snow  and  ice,  the  Japanese 
children  coasted,  built  snow-forts,  fought  battles  with  snow- 
balls, and  the  like.  They  made  snow-men  in  the  likeness 
of  Daruma,  a  follower  of  Buddha,  who  lost  his  legs  by  paral- 
ysis and  decay  from  long  meditation  and  prayer  in  a  squat- 
ting position. 

The  Japanese  children  in  their  plays  imitated  their  elders, 
just  as  children  everywhere  do.  Playing  the  doctor  was  one 
of  the  great  imitative  plays  of  the  younger  children,  and 
there  were  dinners  and  tea-parties  and  weddings  and 
funerals.  One  of  the  great  amusements  of  the  Japanese  was 
wrestling-matches  and  the  children  imitated  these  with  much 
precision,  as  they  would  stamp  their  feet,  eat  their  salt, 
rinse  their  mouths,  slap  their  knees,  and  then  clinch  and  tug 

""Heam,  Glimpses  of  unfamiliar  Japan,  I,  266. 


152  The  Historical  Child 

till  one  or  the  other  was  victor.  "Another  game  which  was 
very  popular  was  called  the  'Genji  and  Heike.'  These  are 
the  names  of  the  celebrated  rival  clans,  or  families,  Minamoto 
and  Taira.  The  boys  of  a  town,  district,  or  school  ranged 
themselves  into  two  parties,  each  with  flags.  Those  of  the 
Heike  were  red,  those  of  the  Genji  white.  Sometimes  every 
boy  had  a  flag,  and  the  object  of  the  contest,  which  was  begun 
at  the  tap  of  a  drum,  was  to  seize  the  flags  of  the  enemy.  The 
party  securing  the  greatest  number  of  flags  won  the  victory. 
In  other  cases,  the  flags  were  fastened  on  the  back  of  each 
contestant,  who  was  armed  with  a  bamboo  for  a  sword,  and 
who  had  fastened,  on  a  pad  over  his  head,  a  flat,  round  piece 
of  earthenware,  so  that  a  party  of  them  looked  not  unlike 
the  faculty  of  a  college.  Often  these  parties  of  boys  num- 
bered several  hundred,  and  were  marshalled  in  squadrons, 
as  in  a  battle.  At  the  given  signal,  the  battle  commenced, 
the  object  being  to  break  the  earthen  dish  on  the  head  of 
the  enemy.  The  contest  was  usually  very  exciting.  Who- 
ever had  his  earthen  disk  demolished  had  to  retire  from  the 
field.  The  party  having  the  greatest  number  of  broken 
disks,  representative  of  cloven  skulls,  was  declared  the  loser. 
This  game  has  been  forbidden  by  the  Government  as  being 
too  severe  and  cruel.     Boys  were  often  injured  in  it."^^ 

Lore.  The  lore  of  Japan  is  as  rich  as  that  of  other  coun- 
tries. Only  a  few  of  the  things  concerning  children  can  be 
given. 

"Japanese  papas,  who  find,  as  other  fathers  do,  how  much 
it  costs  to  raise  a  large  family,  will  not  let  an  infant,  or  even 
a  young  child,  look  in  a  mirror  (and  thus  see  a  child  exactly 
like  itself,  making  apparent  twins)  ;  for  if  he  does,  the 
anxious  parent  supposes)  the  chlild,  when  grown  up  and 
married,  will  have  twins. 

"Children  are  told  that  if  they  tell  a  lie,  an  oni,  or  an 
imp,  called  the  tengu,  will  pull  out  their  tongues, 

"If  a  boy  rests  a  gun  on  top  of  his  head,  he  will  grow 
no  taller.  Children  must  not  carry  any  kind  of  basket  on 
their  heads,  nor  must  they  ever  measure  their  own  height, 

' '  Children  are  told  if  they  strike  anything  with  their  chop- 
sticks while  at  their  meals,  they  will  be  struck  dumb. 

"When  a  maimed  or  deformed  child  is  born,  people  say 
that  its  parents  or  ancestors  committed  some  great  sin. 

"In  Japan,  as  with  us,  each  baby  is  the  most  remarkable 

"  Griffis,  The  Mikado  'a  empire,  II.  464. 


The  Child  in  Japan  153 

child  ever  seen,  and  wondrous  are  the  legends  rehearsed  con- 
cerning each  one;  but  it  is  a  great  day  in  a  Japanese  home 
when  the  baby,  of  his  own  accord,  walks  before  his  first  birth- 
day, and  mochi  (rice  pastry)  must  be  made  to  celebrate  the 
auspicious  event.  ^ 

"Young  girls  do  not  like  1.,  pour  tea  or  hot  water  into  a 
cup  of  kawameshi  (red  rice),  'est  their  wedding-night  should 
be  rainy. 

"Little  boys,  tempted  to  devour  too  much  candy,  are 
frightened,  not  with  prophecies  of  pain  or  threats  of  nauseous 
medicines,  but  by  the  fear  of  a  hideous  worm  that  will  surely 
be  produced  by  indulgence  in  sweets. ' '  ^^ 

A  peculiar  superstition  was  in  connection  with  the  sacred 
trees,  which  were  found  quite  numerous  in  both  city  and 
country.  The  patron  gods  of  these  trees  were  thought  to 
inflict  great  injury  upon  those  who  might  desecrate  the  trees. 
Believing  this,  sometimes  a  young  woman  whose  affections 
had  been  stirred  and  then  set  aside  used  these  sacred  trees 
as  a  means  of  avenging  herself.  Making  a  rude  image  of 
straw  to  represent  her  former  lover,  at  the  "hour  of  the  ox," 
two  0  'clock  in  the  morning,  she  carried  this  straw  man  to  one 
of  these  trees.  Having  on  her  feet  the  high  clogs,  worn  in 
Japan,  her  hair  disheveled,  dressed  in  a  loose  flowing  white 
night-dress,  carrying  in  her  hand  nails  and  hammer,  she 
proceeded  to  the  tree  and  crucified  on  it  the  straw  image  of 
her  lover.  Then  she  beseeched  the  gods  to  whom  the  tree 
was  dedicated  to  bring  down  affliction  and  even  death  upon 
him  who  mutilated  the  tree.  These  visits  were  repeated  and 
the  same  things  gone  over  till  her  recreant  lover  sickened  and 
died.    It  is  not  told  whether  this  always  occurred  or  not. 

"The  wonderful  story  of  'Raiko  and  the  Oni'  is  one  of 
the  most  famous  in  the  collection  of  Japanese  grandmothers. 
Its  power  to  open  the  mouths  and  distend  the  oblique  eyes 
of  the  youngsters  long  after  bedtime,  is  unlimited.  I  have 
before  me  a  little  stitched  book  of  seven  leaves,  which  I  bought 
among  a  lot  of  two  dozen  or  more  in  one  of  the  colored  print 
and  book  shops  in  Tokio.  It  is  four  inches  long  and  three 
wide.  On  the  gaudy  cover,  which  is  printed  in  seven  colors, 
is  a  picture  of  Raiko,  the  hero,  in  helmet  and  armor,  grasping 
in  both  hands  the  faithful  sword  with  which  he  slays  the 
ghoul  whose  frightful  face  glowers  above  him.  The  hiragana 
text  and  wood-cuts  within  the  covers  are  greatly  worn,  show- 

"Griffis,  The  Mikado's  empire,  II,  468. 


154  The  Historical  Child 

ing  that  many  thousand  copies  have  been  printed  from  the 
original  and  oft-retouched  face  of  the  cherry-wood  blocks. 
The  story,  thus  illustrated  with  fourteen  engravings,  is  as 
follows : 

"A  long  time  ago,  when  thfj  mikado's  power  had  slipped 
away  into  the  hands  of  his  regents,  the  guard  at  Kioto  was 
neglected.  There  was  a  rumor  in  the  city  that  oni,  or  demons, 
frequented  the  streets  late  at  night,  and  carried  off  people 
bodily.  The  most  dreaded  place  was  at  the  Ra-jo  gate,  at 
the  southwestern  entrance  to  the  palace.  Hither  Watanabe, 
by  order  of  Raiko,  the  chief  captain  of  the  guard,  started 
one  night,  well  armed.  "Wearily  waiting  for  some  hours,  he 
became  drowsy,  and  finally  fell  asleep.  Seizing  his  oppor- 
tunity, the  wary  demon  put  out  his  arm  from  behind  the 
gate-post,  caught  Watanabe  by  the  neck,  and  began  to  drag 
him  up  in  the  air,  Watanabe  awoke,  and  in  an  instant  seized 
the  imp  by  the  wrist,  and,  drawing  his  sword,  lopped  the 
oni's  arm  off,  who  then  leaped  onto  the  cloud,  howling  with 
pain.  In  the  morning  Watanabe  returned  and  laid  the  trophy 
at  his  master's  feet.  It  is  said  that  an  oni's  limb  will  not 
unite  again  if  kept  apart  from  the  stump  for  a  week.  Wata- 
nabe put  the  hairy  arm  in  a  strong  stone  box,  wreathed  with 
twisted  rice  straw,  and  watched  it  day  and  night,  lest  the 
oni  should  recover  it.  One  night  a  feeble  knock  was  heard 
at  his  door,  and  to  his  challenge  his  old  aunt's  voice  replied. 
Of  course,  he  let  the  old  woman  in.  She  praised  her  nephew's 
exploit,  and  begged  him  to  let  her  see  it.  Being  thus  pressed, 
as  he  thought,  by  his  old  aunty,  he  slid  the  lid  aside.  'This 
is  my  arm,'  cried  the  old  hag,  as  she  flew  westward  into  the 
sky,  changing  her  form  into  a  tusked  and  hairy  demon.  Trac- 
ing the  oni's  course,  Raiko  and  four  companions,  disguised 
as  komuso  (wandering  priests),  reached  the  pathless  moun- 
tain Oye,  in  Tango,  which  they  climbed.  They  found  a  beau- 
tiful young  girl  washing  a  bloody  garment.  From  her  they 
learned  the  path  to  the  oni's  cave,  and  that  the  demons  eat 
the  men,  and  save  the  pretty  damsels  alive.  Approaching, 
they  saw  a  demon  cook  carving  a  human  body,  to  make  soup 
of.  Entering  the  cave,  they  saw  Shii  ten  ddji,  a  hideous 
tusked  monster,  with  long  red  hair,  sitting  on  a  pile  of  silken 
cushions,  with  about  a  hundred  retainers  around  him,  at  a 
feast.  Steaming  dishes  were  brought  in,  full  of  human  limbs, 
cooked  in  every  style.  The  young  damsels  had  to  serve  the 
demons,  who  quaffed  sake  out  of  human  skulls.     Raiko  and 


The  Child  in  Japan  155 

his  band  pretended  to  join  in  the  orgies,  and  amused  the 
demons  by  a  dance,  after  which  they  presented  them  with  a 
bottle  of  sake  which  had  been  mixed  with  a  narcotic.  The 
chief  drank  a  skullful  and  gave  to  his  retainers.  Soon  all 
the  demons  were  asleep,  and  a  thunder-storm  of  snores  suc- 
ceeded. Then  Raiko  and  his  men  threw  off  their  disguise, 
drew  sword,  and  cut  oft'  their  heads,  till  the  cave  flowed  blood 
like  a  river.  The  neck  of  the  chief  demon  was  wider  than 
Raiko 's  sword,  but  the  blade  miraculously  lengthened,  and 
Raiko  cut  the  monster's  head  off  at  one  sweep.  They  then 
destroyed  the  treasure,  released  all  the  prisoners,  and  re- 
turned to  Kioto  in  triumph,  exposing  the  huge  head  along 
the  streets."  ^^ 

Religion.  Before  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ja- 
pan, there  were  but  three  religions :  Shintoism,  Confucianism, 
and  Buddhism.  The  first  is  native  to  Japan  and  the  other 
two  are  importations.  Shintoism  teaches  nature  and  ancestor 
worship,  cleanliness,  and  purity.  As  is  the  nature  of  the 
Japanese,  so  this  native  religion  has  some  merrjrmaking  in  it. 
Confucianism  teaches  implicit  obedience  to  those  who  are  in 
power,  as  emperor,  parent,  and  teacher.  Buddhism  is  some- 
what similar  to  Christianity  in  making  its  followers  kind  to 
those  in  lower  life,  as,  the  poor,  and  animals.  "In  a  word, 
'Shintoism  furnishes  the  object  of  worship,  Confucianism 
offers  the  rules  of  life,  and  Buddhism  supplies  the  way  of 
future  salvation. '  "  2* 

There  is  no  doubt  that  all  three  of  these  religions  had  much 
to  do  in  moulding  the  character  of  the  young  in  Japan,  for 
in  nearly  every  house  of  the  reigning  class  were  the  books 
or  emblems  or  symbols  or  idols  of  these  three  religions. 

The  school  children  had  a  god  all  to  themselves,  who  was 
supposed  to  aid  them  in  their  study.  This  god  was  called 
"Ten-jin,"  or  "Heavenly  Man."  As  the  boy  desired  to 
become  a  scholar,  learned  in  the  Chinese  characters  and  an 
excellent  penman,  so  he  prayed  to  Ten- j  in  to  help  him  in  all 
these. 

Suicide.  The  Japanese  did  not  fear  death  nor  dread  the 
consequences  of  a  future  world,  so  that  suicide  was  not  looked 
upon  as  in  Europe  and  America  today.  "As  for  the  young 
lovers  of  whom  I  speak,  they  have  a  strange  faith  which 
effaces  mysteries  for  them.     They  turn  to  the  darkness  with 

^Griffis,  The  Mikado's  empire,  II,  491. 
*^  Griffis,  Japan  in  history,  75. 


156  The  Historical  Child 

infinite  trust.  If  they  are  too  unhappy  to  endure  existence, 
the  fault  is  not  another's,  nor  yet  the  world's;  it  is  their  own; 
it  is  innen,  the  result  of  errors  in  a  previous  life.  If  they 
can  never  hope  to  be  united  in  this  world,  it  is  only  because 
in  some  former  birth  they  broke  their  promise  to  wed,  or 
were  otherwise  cruel  to  each  other.  But  they  believe  likewise 
that  by  dying  together  they  will  find  themselves  at  once 
united  in  another  world.  Sometimes  the}-  make  a  little  ban- 
quet for  themselves,  write  very  strange  letters  to  parents  and 
friends,  mix  something  bitter  with  their  rice-wine,  and  go  to 
sleep  forever.  Sometimes  they  select  a  more  ancient  and  more 
honored  method :  the  lover  first  slays  his  beloved  with  a  single 
sword  stroke,  and  then  pierces  his  own  throat.  Sometimes 
with  the  girl's  long  crape-silk  under-girdle  {koshi-ohi)  they 
bind  themselves  fast  together,  face  to  face,  and  so  embracing 
leap  into  some  deep  lake  or  stream. ' '  ^^ 

"Bravery  has  always  been  the  chief  ideal  of  Japanese 
character.  Wliat  beauty  meant  to  the  Greeks,  and  right  to 
the  Romans,  and  purity  to  the  Hebrews  of  old,  bravery  has 
meant  to  Japan."  "^  In  older  Japan  one  of  the  bravest  deeds 
was  that  of  taking  one's  own  life  when  there  was  a  need. 
Thus  arose  the  practice  of  seppnku  (belly-cutting)  or  hara- 
kiri,  the  more  common  term.  This  act  was  performed  by 
icutting  across  through  one's  bowels.  This  brought  into 
practice  the  wearing  of  two  swords,  a  long  one  for  enemies 
and  a  short  one  for  the  wearer's  own  body.  The  young  men 
were  taught  how  to  perform  this  deed  upon  themselves  and 
they  were  so  impressed  that  when  the  time  came  for  its 
performance  they  were  able  to  meet  death  without  a  tremor 
and  with  perfect  composure.  The  young  women  were  taught 
the  equivalent  duty  of  jigai,  which  was  the  piercing  of  the 
throat  with  a  dagger  so  that  a  single  cut  would  sever  the 
arteries. 

Work.  The  children  were  taught  to  work.  The  girl  was 
instructed  in  household  duties  and  the  care  of  children.  She 
was  taught  how  to  receive  and  entertain  guests,  how  to  take 
care  of  the  rooms  and  furniture,  how  to  cook  and  prepare  and 
serve  the  dishes,  how  to  do  the  marketing,  how  to  sew,  and  all 
such  duties,  so  that  when  she  should  enter  a  home  of  her  own 
she  would  know  how  to  perform  the  duties  of  wife  and  mother. 

The  apprenticeship  system  was  used  in  Japan.     The  boy 

"  Hearn,  Glimpses  of  unfamiliar  Japan,  I,  286. 
"•Scherer,  Young  Japan,  149. 


The  Child  in  Japan  157 

had  to  serve  a  long  apprenticeship  with  no  pay,  or  but  little 
pay,  although  his  needs  of  food,  clothing,  and  lodging  were 
attended  to.  Somewhat  akin  to  this  was  the  entering  of  boys 
into  the  homes  of  those  of  distinction  and  education.  The 
young  men  performed  the  services  required  about  the  home 
and  they  were  cared  for  by  the  ones  having  them  in  charge 
and  given  instruction  in  the  things  needed  by  them  for  the 
future. 

Education.  In  the  early  times  of  Japan  there  seems  to  be 
nothing  to  prove  that  children  received  any  education  other 
than  domestic  training,  and  the  higher  classes  had  a  training 
in  the  implements  of  warfare.  Later,  schools  grew  up  and 
children  of  both  sexes  and  of  all  ranks  attended  the  lower 
schools  and  those  of  higher  rank  went  on  into  schools  of  a 
higher  grade.  In  the  eighth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  a 
university  was  established  at  the  capital  and  branch  schools 
in  the  several  provinces.  In  the  university  instruction  was 
given  in  Chinese  literature,  history,  law,  music,  medicine, 
mathematics,  and  astronomy  and  astrology.  Students  were 
sent  to  China  along  with  the  Japanese  ambassadors  to  that 
country  and  some  of  these  students  remained  for  a  number 
of  years  to  complete  their  studies. 

The  art  of  writing  was  brought  into  Japan  from  Korea 
in  A.  D.  284,  Previous  to  this  it  would  appear  that  the 
Japanese  had  no  way  of  recording  events,  as  books  and 
writing  were  unknown.  Writing  was  at  first  with  the 
Chinese  characters,  which  were  used  to  represent  Japanese 
words.  Later  a  system  was  devised  whereby  only  parts  of 
the  Chinese  characters  were  used  for  writing  and  a  syllabry 
was  formed. 

In  the  university  mentioned  above,  "the  training  of  the 
students  in  medicine  chiefly  consisted  in  making  them  famil- 
iar with  the  methods  which  prevailed  in  China.  The  prop- 
erties of  medicinal  plants,  the  variations  of  the  pulse  in  health 
and  disease  and  in  the  changing  seasons,  and  the  anatomy 
of  the  human  body  were  the  chief  subjects  of  study.  The 
human  cadaver  was  never  dissected,  but  a  knowledge  of 
anatomy  was  obtained  from  diagrams  which  were  wholly 
hypothetical.  In  early  times  medical  officers  were  appointed 
to  experiment  with  medicines  upon  monkeys,  and  also  to 
dissect  the  bodies  of  monkeys.  From  these  dissections,  as 
well  as  from  the  printed  diagrams  of  Chinese  books  the 
imperfect  knowledge  which  they  had  reached^  was  derived. 


158  ,  The  Historical  Child 

It  was  not  till  1771  that  Sugita  Genpaku  and  several  other 
Japanese  scholars  had  an  opportunity  to  dissect  the  body  of 
a  criminal,  and  by  personal  observation  found  the  utter 
falsity  of  the  Chinese  diagrams  on  which  they  had  hitherto 
relied,  and  the  correctness  of  the  Dutch  books,  which  they 
had,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  learned  to  read. ' '  ^^ 

A  large  part  of  the  education  of  the  young  samurai  was 
of  a  military  order.  He  was  well  trained  to  ride  a  horse, 
to  shoot  a  bow,  and  to  handle  the  spear  and  the  sword.  The 
hara-kiri  was  an  especial  part  of  this  training.  "They  are 
instructed  as  to  the  proper  mode  of  performing  this  act,  the 
ceremonies  that  should  accompany  it,  varying  with  the  occa- 
sion, and  according  as  it  is  done  publicly  or  privately,  and 
under  what  circumstances  a  well-bred  man  should  feel  himself 
obliged  thus  to  destroy  himself. ' '  ^® 

The  girls  were  taught  needlework,  music,  the  arranging  of 
flowers,  etc.  They  were  instructed  in  household  duties  and 
the  things  needed  by  a  wife  and  mother.  Some  girls  received 
higher  education,  becoming  able  to  understand  the  Chinese 
characters  used  by  the  Japanese,  and  they  were  especially 
well  learned  in  the  history  of  their  country.  "Plutarch  tells 
us  that  the  ambition  of  a  Spartan  woman  was  to  be  the  wife 
of  a  great  man  and  the  mother  of  illustrious  sons.  Bushido 
set  no  lower  ideal  before  our  maidens;  their  whole  bringing 
up  was  in  accordance  with  this  view.  They  were  instructed 
in  many  martial  practices  for  the  sake  of  self-defense,  that 
they  might  safeguard  their  person  and  their  children ;  in  the 
art  of  committing  suicide,  that  in  case  no  alternative  opened 
to  save  them  from  disgrace,  they  might  end  their  lives  in 
due  order  and  in  comely  fashion.  "^^  There  were  a  number 
of  books,  which  appeared  from  time  to  time,  upon  the  educa- 
tion of  the  girl,  till  a  library  arose  which  were  often  bound 
in  one  volume. 

"If  the  reader  will  imagine  a  volume  composed  of  the 
Bible,  'Ladies'  Letter-writer,'  'Guide  to  Etiquette,'  'The 
Young  Ladies'  Own  Book,'  Hannah  More's  works.  Miss 
Strickland 's  '  Queens  of  England, '  a  work  on  household  econ- 
omy, and  an  almanac,  he  will  obtain  some  idea  of  the  contents 
of  the  Bunko,  or  'Japanese  Lady's  Library.'  With  text  and 
illustrations,  the  volume  is  very  large;  but  if  translated  and 

**  Murray,  Japan,  112. 

'^ ,  Manners  and  customs  of  the  Japanese,  126. 

**  Nitobe,  The  Japanese  nation,  166. 


The  Child  in  Japan  159 

printed  in  brevier  with  the  cuts,  it  would  not  probably  occupy 
more  space  than  one  of  our  largest  monthly  magazines.  _The 
books  composing  it,  in  their  order  of  importance,  are  the  Onna 
Dai  Gaku  ('Women's  Great  Learning' — the  moral  duties  of 
woman,  founded  on  the  Chinese  classics)  ;  Onna  Sho  GakU 
('Woman's  Small  Learning' — introduction  to  the  above); 
Onna  Niwa  no  Oshiye  ('Woman's  Household  Instruction' — 
duties  relating  to  furniture,  dress,  reception  of  guests,  and 
all  the  minutife  of  indoor  life,  both  daily  and  ceremonial)  ; 
Onna  Imagawa  ('Moral  Lessons'  in  paragraphs)  ;  Onna  Yd' 
hunsho  ('Lady's  Letter-writer')  ;  Nijiu-shi  Ko  ('Twenty -four 
Children' — stories  about  model  children  in  China).  Besides 
these  works  of  importance,  there  are  Hiyakii  Nin  Isshiii — a 
collection  of  one  hundred  poems  from  as  many  poets,  written 
in  the  old  Yamato  dialect,  and  learned  in  every  household, 
and  perpetually  repeated  with  passionate  fondness  by  old 
and  young ;  a  collection  of  lives  of  model  women ;  household 
lore ;  almanac  learning ;  rules  and  examples  to  secure  perfect 
agreement  between  man  and  wife ;  and  a  vast  and  detailed 
array  of  other  knowledge  of  various  sorts,  both  useful  and 
ornamental  to  a  Japanese  maiden,  wife,  widow,  or  mother. 
This  book  is  studied,  not  only  by  the  higher  classes,  but  by 
the  daughters  in  almost  every  respectable  family  throughout 
the  country.  It  is  read  and  reread,  and  committed  to  mem- 
ory, until  it  becomes  to  the  Japanese  woman  what  the  Bible 
is  to  the  inmate  of  those  homes  in  the  AVest  in  which  the 
Bible  is  the  first,  and  last,  and  often  the  only  book. ' '  ^^ 


LITERATURE 


Manners  and  customs  of  the  Japanese.    Fam- 


ily library,  No.  142  (1841). 

2.  Bacon,  Alice  Mabel,  Japanese  girls  and  women. 

3.  Griffis,  William  Elliott,  Japan  in  history,  folk  lore,  and 

4.  Griffis,  William  Elliott,  The  Mikado's  empire. 

5.  Gulick,  Sidney  L.,  Evolution  of  the  Japanese. 

6.  Hearn,  Lafcadio,  Glimpses  of  unfamiliar  Japan. 

7.  Kikuchi,  Baron  Dairoku,  Japanese  education. 

8.  Knapp,  Arthur  May,  Feudal  and  modern  Japan. 

*  Griffis,  The  Mikado's  empire,  II,  558. 


160  The  Historical  Child 

9.  Lloyd,  Arthur,  Every-day  Japan. 

10.  Lombard,  Frank  Alanson,  Pre-Meiji  education  in  Japan. 

11.  Mitford,  A.  B.,  Tales  of  Old  Japan. 

12.  Murray,  David,  Japan. 

13.  Nitobe,  Inazo,  The  Japanese  nation. 

14.  Scherer,  James  A.  B.,  Young  Japan. 

15.  Taylor,  Bayard.  Japan  in  our  day. 


CHAPTER   YII 

THE  CHILD  IN  PERSIA 

Characteristics.  Persia  proper  was  a  table-land,  lying  be- 
tween the  Caspian  Sea  and  the  Persian  Gulf,  with  deep 
valleys  and  rapid  rivers.  It  was  such  a  country,  with  such 
a  climate,  as  required  a  constant  struggle  by  mankind  for 
existence.  Thus  was  produced  a  vigorous  race,  a  race  of  our 
own  blood,  Aryans,  that  had  one  great  wave  of  emigration 
to  the  West,  peopling  Europe,  and  a  later  wave  into  India. 
The  Persians  were  quick,  keen-witted,  lovers  of  art  and 
poetry,  filled  with  energy  and  courage,  and  having  a  very 
high  regard  for  truth.  "He  was  free  and  open  in  speech, 
bold  in  act,  generous,  warm-hearted,  hospitable.  His  chief 
faults  were  an  addiction  to  self-indulgence  and  luxury,  a 
passionate  abandon  to  the  feeling  of  the  hour,  whatever  that 
might  happen  to  be;  and  a  tameness  and  subservience  in  all 
his  relations  towards  his  prince,  which  seem  to  moderns 
almost  incompatible  with  real  self-respect  and  manliness."^ 

Women  and  Marriage.  As  in  other  oriental  countries,  the 
parties  to  a  marriage  were  often  betrothed  in  infancy,  and 
they  had  never  seen  one  another  till  on  their  wedding-day. 
Boys  sometimes  married  at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  girls  at 
twelve,  but  as  a  rule  men  were  between  the  ages  of  twenty- 
five  and  thirty  and  women  from  fourteen  to  nineteen.  Parents 
usually  arranged  for  the  marriage  of  their  children,  but 
sometimes  the  men  would  get  a  female  friend  to  select  a 
partner  for  them.  When  the  consent  of  all  had  been  obtained, 
then  a  formal  betrothal  took  place  and  gifts  were  exchanged. 

A  day  having  been  set  for  the  wedding,  on  that  day  the 
women  would  gather  at  the  home  of  the  bride  and  the  men 
at  the  bridegroom's  house.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark,  the 
bride  was  escorted  to  the  home  of  the  bridegroom,  amidst  the 
beating  of  drums,  the  playing  of  tambourines,  and  the  flash- 
ing of  lanterns.  Arrived  at  his  house,  a  man  would  grasp 
the  bride  about  the  waist  to  carry  her  within,  which  would 

^Rawlinson,  Seven  great  monarchies,  II,  319. 

161 


162  The  Historical  Child 

cause  a  strife  for  if  this  was  done  by  a  friend  of  the  bride- 
groom then  he  would  in  the  future  be  able  to  maintain  due 
authority  over  his  wife,  but  if  it  was  by  a  friend  of  the 
bride  then  she  "would  keep  her  own  side  of  the  house." 
When  the  bride  had  passed  into  the  reception-room,  the  bride- 
groom made  his  appearance  and  he  would  hold  a  looking- 
glass  before  her  that  he  might  get  a  good  look  at  her  face, 
and  he  was  aided  in  his  decision  of  her  looks  by  the  ladies 
present  who  would  strive  to  get  a  look  also  at  her  face.  "After 
this,  the  bridegroom  takes  a  bit  of  sugar-candy,  and,  biting 
it  in  two  halves,  eats  one  himself,  and  presents  the  other  to 
his  bride.  He  then  takes  her  stockings,  throws  one  over  his 
left  shoulder,  places  the  other  under  his  right  foot,  and  orders 
all  the  spectators  to  withdraw.  They  retire  accordingly,  and 
the  happy  couple  are  left  alone."  ^ 

There  was  a  form  of  marriage  peculiar  to  Persia,  and  which 
must  have  originated  in  a  very  early  time,  in  which  the 
contract  was  only  temporary.  In  this  form  a  woman  would 
enter  into  an  agreement  to  live  as  a  wife  with  a  certain  man 
for  a  limited  period  on  consideration  of  receiving  a  specified 
sum.  The  time  might  be  for  a  part  of  a  day  or  for  a  long 
number  of  years.  If  the  man  should  leave  the  woman  before 
the  time  had  expired,  she  received  the  sum  of  money  just 
the  same.  But  she  had  no  other  claim  upon  him  nor  had  she 
the  right  to  inherit  property  from  him.  At  the  end  of  the 
time  the  woman  could  not  marry  again  for  a  month  and  if 
then  found  to  be  with  child  a  longer  time  had  to  elapse 
before  her  marriage  again  and  the  child,  as  well  as  other 
children  born  to  the  union,  was  acknowledged  and  sup- 
ported by  the  man  with  whom  she  had  been  living. 

It  is  quite  well  known  that  incest  existed  among  the  ancient 
Persians.  They  even  went  further  in  this  than  did  the  Egyp- 
tians or  Peruvians,  as  not  only  were  brothers  and  sisters  per- 
mitted to  marry  but  even  a  mother  and  son  or  father  and 
daughter.  As  with  the  ancient  Peruvians  so  with  the  ancient 
Persians,  these  unions  were  sometimes  required  for  their 
religion  called  for  the  offspring  of  such  unions  for  the 
sacrifices. 

Since  the  number  of  sons  a  Persian  had  was  a  source  of 
pride  to  him,  this  made  polygamy  a  desired  and  necessary 
thing.    Hence  in  ancient  Persia  a  man  was  allowed  to  have 

*rraser,  History  of  Persia,  289. 


The  Child  in  Persia  163 

several  wh'es  and  besides  an  additional  number  of  concubines, 
-in  order  that  many  sons  m-iglit  be  born  to  him. 

Divorce  was  permitted  almost  at  will  to  the  husband, 
custom  holding  him  in  check.  Another  thing  that  cheeked 
divorce  was  that  the  husband  had  to  restore  the  dowiy  with 
the  returning  of  the  woman  to  her  home.  The  most  usual 
causes  of  separation  were  bad  temper,  extravagance,  or  some 
complaint  of  that  kind  against  the  wife. 

Dress.  The  boy  was  dressed  somewhat  as  his  father.  Of 
the  poorer  classes,  the  males  wore  a  tunic  and.  trousers  of 
leather,  with  a  strap  or  belt  around  the  waist,  and  high  shoes 
tied  in  front  with  a  string.  The  richer  classes  wore  long 
robes  with  loose  hanging  sleeves,  sleeved  tunics  reaching  to 
the  knees,  fine  shoes,  drawers  under  the  tunics,  gloves  on  the 
hands,  and  socks  or  stockings  under  the  shoes.  These  were 
all  of  rich  material  and  handsomely  made.  The  principal 
attire  of  the  women  was  a  wrapper  with  trousers  beneath, 
over  these  was  worn  a  jacket  with  a  shawl,  cloak,  or  furs, 
according  to  the  state  of  the  weather,  round  the  head  was 
wound  a  silk  handkerchief  in  form  similar  to  a  turban,  and 
on  the  feet  were  stockings  and  slippers.  Under  Mohamme- 
dan rule,  when  going  out  the  women  put  on  a  long,  loose 
wrap  that  enveloped  them  from  head  to  foot  and  left  only 
a  small  opening  for  the  face,  which  might  be  covered  with 
open  lacework  or  a  veil.  The  girls  were  dressed  similar  to 
their  mothers. 

Child  and  Paxent.  The  boy  remained  with  the  women  till 
his  fifth  year,  his  father  never  seeing  him  till  then,  which 
was  said  to  have  been  done  to  prevent  the  father  from  being 
afflicted  by  the  loss  if  the  child  should  die  young.  "Children 
had  to  yield  absolute  obedience  to  their  parents ;  but  so  con- 
vinced were  they  of  the  sacredness  of  the  family  tie  as 
founded  on  love  and  reverence  that  they  maintained  'that 
never  yet  did  any  one  kill  his  father  or  his  mother,  but  in  all 
such  cases  they  are  sure  that,  if  matters  were  sifted  to  the 
bottom,  it  would  be  found  that  the  child  was  either  a  change- 
ling or  else  the  fruit  of  adultery,  for  it  is  not  likely,  they  say, 
that  the  real  father  should  perish  by  the  hands  of  the  child. ' 
(Herod.)  "^ 

Inheritance.  The  Persian  was  considered  to  have  reached 
manhood  when  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age.    "The  offspring 

'Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,  183. 


164  The  Historical  Child 

of  the  temporary  unions,  or  of  any  sort  of  union,  are  all  equal 
before  the  Persian  law,  which  merely  subjects  them  to  the 
right  of  primogeniture.  At  the  death  of  the  father,  the 
eldest  son,  though  born  of  a  slave  mother,  takes  two-thirds 
of  the  succession.  The  remaining  third  of  the  property  is 
divided  amongst  the  other  children,  but  in  such  a  way  that 
the  share  of  the  boys  is  half  as  large  again  as  that  of  the 
girls."  * 

Amusements.  The  chief  amusements  of  the  Persians  were 
hunting  and  playing  at  dice.  The  boys  no  doubt  followed 
their  elders  and  had  imitation  hunts.  The  boys  also  played 
games  similar  to  blindman's  buff  and  tag.  They  flew  kites 
and  played  ball.  Boys  and  girls  did  not  play  together.  The 
girls  preferred  to  sit  about  and  listen  to  fairy  stories,  or 
at  least  such  was  the  case  in  later  days.  Both  boys  and  girls 
were  fond  of  singing. 

Education.  Among  the  ancient  Persians,  education  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  given  other  than  to  the  higher  classes, 
except  that  general  training  that  comes  through  religion  and 
custom  and  institutions  that  would  be  shared  in  by  every  citi- 
zen. Education  was  not  meant  to  be  literary  or  scholastic 
but  principally  of  such  a  kind  as  would  produce  warriors. 

There  were  five  periods  in  the  life  of  the  Persian.  The  first 
ended  at  the  fifth  year,  or,  as  some  claim,  at  the  seventh 
year;  the  second  period  ended  with  the  fifteenth  year;  the 
third  ended  at  twenty-five ;  the  fourth  ended  at  fifty,  and  the 
fifth  period  was  the  time  after  fifty  years  of  age. 

During  the  first  period  the  child  was  under  the  care  of 
the  mother  and  the  other  women  of  the  family.  "  'Up  to  the 
fifth  year,'  Herodotus  tells  us,  'they  are  not  allowed  to 
come  into  the  sight  of  their  father,  but  pass  their  lives  with 
the  women.  This  is  done  that  if  the  child  die  young,  the 
father  would  not  be  afflicted  with  the  loss. '  "  ^  The  child  was 
not  supposed  to  be  capable  of  distinguishing  between  right 
and  wrong,  and  so  he  was  taught  simply  to  obey  the  direc- 
tions given  him.  A  child  was  not  to  be  whipped  before  his 
seventh  year,  and  he  was  to  receive  only  kind  treatment. 

At  the  close  of  this  first  period,  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  year, 
the  boy  left  his  mother  and  went  into  the  care  of  the  state. 
This  second  period  was  a  time  of  physical  training.  The 
boy  was  given  exercises  in  running,  stone  slinging,  bow  shoot- 

*  Letourneau,   Evolution   of   marriage,   332. 

*  Laurie,  Pre-Christiaa  education,  190. 


The  Child  in  Persi<i  165 

ing,  and  javelin  throwing.  He  was  taught  to  ride,  and,  later, 
to  hunt.  He  was  trained  to  endure  heat  and  cold  and  hun- 
ger and  fatigue.  Through  the  national  traditions,  the  boys 
learned  of  the  doings  of  the  heroes  and  the  meaning  of  noble 
deeds.  They  were  taught  to  speak  the  truth  and  learned  to 
be  just  and  pure  and  courageous  and  to  gain  self-control. 
They  were  instructed  in  the  myths  of  the  gods  and  other 
religious  matters,  and  about  the  fifteenth  year  the  boys  were 
invested  with  the  holy  girdle. 

At  fifteen  the  boy  entered  the  youth  period.  During  this 
period  military  training  was  the  great  exercise.  The  youth 
received  careful  training  in  the  use  of  military  implement^;, 
in  the  knowledge  of  military  terms  and  usages,  and  given  the 
strict  discipline  of  military  life.  "The  Magi  required  a  higher 
education.  This  must  have  consisted  in  the  study  and  ex- 
planation of  the  sacred  writings,  and  may  have  included  a 
limited  training  in  philosophy,  astrology,  medicine,  law,  and 
finance,  so  that  they  were  able  to  become  advisers  to  the 
Great  King  and  his  satraps."^ 

At  twenty-five  the  youth  was  considered  a  man  and  he  took 
his  place  as  a  citizen  of  the  state  and  he  continued  in  service 
till  his  fiftieth  year. 

Girls  received  no  education  other  than  that  of  domestic 
training,  such  as  was  needed  in  the  care  of  the  home,  the 
rearing  of  the  little  children,  and  the  other  duties  that  would 
come  to  the  women.  TV  omen  held  a  higher  place  in  the  family 
than  was  granted  to  them,  for  the  most  part,  in  other  oriental 
countries. 

There  was  no  educational  system  in  Persia.  There  was  no 
real  method  of  instruction.  Perhaps  no  other  nation  gave 
more  care  to  the  moral  and  physical  training  of  the  young 
than  did  ancient  Persia,  yet  this  was  to  the  almost  entire 
neglect  of  intellectual  training.  The  moral  training  came 
through  the  mingling  of  the  young  with  their  elders  and  the 
military  training  through  imitation  of  the  men  at  the  vari- 
ous courts.  "We  know,  however,  from  Strabo  and  the  gen- 
eral evidence  of  antiquity  that  the  boys  of  the  higher  classes 
were  brought  up  together  under  men  of  gravity  and  reputa- 
tion at  the  court  of  the  great  king,  and  also  at  the  lesser 
courts  of  the  great  nobles  and  provincial  governors. ' ' '' 

Persian  life  and  education  tended  toward  individuality. 

*  Graves,  History  of  education,  Before  the  middle  ages,  100. 
'Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,  191. 


166  The  Historical  Child 

Caste  with  its  repressive  influence  did  not  exist  in  ancient 
Persia.  The  national  feeling  was  intense.  The  government 
was  despotic.  The  ethical  aim  was  high  and  the  individual 
was  encouraged  to  high  standards  of  courage,  truthfulness, 
and  purity.  But  in  spite  of  this,  the  education  was  faulty 
in  that  the  individual  was  trained  so  strongly  in  warfare  as 
to  overshadow  the  ethical  side.  As  long  as  Persia  was  strug- 
gling the  ethical  standards  were  maintained  alongside  the 
standards  of  war  so  that  the  individual  and  the  nation  could 
keep  right.  But  when  conquests  came,  bringing  wealth  and 
power  and  the  lower  ethical  standards  of  other  nations,  the 
Persians  were  unable  to  bear  the  strain  and  so  degeneration 
went  forward  fast  and  the  nation  found  itself  unable  to  with- 
stand the  more  vigorous  peoples  that  came  against  it  under 
Alexander  and  so  the  empire  fell,  leaving  but  little  impress 
on  civilization, 

LITERATURE 

1.  Benjamin,  S,  G.  W.,  Persia  and  the  Persians. 

2.  Dean,  Amos,  The  history  of  civilization, 

3.  Fraser,  James  B.,  Historical  and  descriptive  account  of 
Persia. 

4.  Graves,  Frank  Pierrepont,  A  history  of  education,  Be- 
fore the  middle  ages. 

5.  Jackson,  A.  V.  "Williams,  Persia,  past  and  present, 

6.  Laurie,  S,  S.,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  educa- 
tion. 

7.  Letourneau,  Ch.,  The  evolution  of  marriage. 

8.  McLennan,  J,  G.,  Studies  in  ancient  history, 

9.  Rawlinson,  George,  The  seven  great  monarchies. 
10.    Vaux,  W.  S.  W.,  Persia  from  the  earliest  period. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE    CHILD   IN   JUDEA 

Historical.  We  learn  from  their  own  writings  that  the 
Jews  arose  from  peoples  that  lived  in  the  region  of  the 
Euphrates,  a  particular  tribe  of  whom,  under  the  leadership 
of  Abraham,  near  2000  B.C.,  migrated  to  the  land  of  Canaan 
or  Palestine.  Here  they  lived  a  nomadic  life  till  a  portion 
of  them,  the  descendants  of  Jacob,  migrated  to  northeastern 
Egypt,  from  whence  some  centuries  later  they  were  led  forth 
by  Moses  and  after  wanderings  and  warrings  they  entered 
again  into  Palestine  and  built  up  a  nation.  After  some  cen- 
turies internal  dissensions  arose  and  the  larger  part  withdrew 
and  were  later  forever  lost.  The  smaller  portion  continued 
as  a  nation  and  later  were  carried  captives  into  Babylon  and 
then  restored  again  to  their  own  country.  Then  later  they 
came  under  the  dominion  of  the  Greeks  and  then  under  the 
Komans.  Through  this  contact  with  the  various  civilizations, 
through  the  effect  of  their  environment  of  both  the  country 
itself  and  the  tribes  about  them,  but  more  from  that  some- 
thing innate  in  themselves,  they  developed  into  a  people  that 
evolved  the  great  religious  idea  which,  it  seems,  will  dominate 
the  entire  world. 

Women  and  Marriage.  Woman  was  held  in  high  esteem 
by  the  Jews.  She  mingled  freely  in  private  and  in  public 
with  others.  The  Bible  is  full  of  the  doings  of  women — as 
mothers,  as  wives,  as  sisters — showing  courage  and  devotion 
and  wisdom.  She  took  a  leading  part  in  the  life  of  the  nation, 
especially  in  religious  affairs.  She  was  protected  by  a  relig- 
ion that  did  not  debase  her  but  which  called  for  a  pure  home 
and  a  happy  family.  Woman  was  gi^eatly  respected  in  spite 
of  some  of  the  sayings  about  her  as  the  following:  "It  was 
observed  that  God  formed  woman  neither  out  of  the  head, 
lest  she  should  become  proud ;  nor  out  of  the  eye,  lest  she 
should  be  curious;  nor  out  of  the  mouth,  lest  she  should  be 
too  talkative ;  nor  out  of  the  hand,  lest  she  should  be  covetous ; 
nor  out  of  the  foot,  lest  she  should  gad  about ;  but  out  of 

167 


168  The  Historical  Child 

the  rib,  which  was  always  covered.  ...  As  woman  is  formed 
from  a  rib,  and  man  from  the  ground,  man  seeks  a  wife,  and 
not  vice  versa ;  he  only  seeks  what  he  lost.  This  explains  why 
man  is  more  easily  reconciled  than  woman;  he  is  made  of 
soft  earth  and  she  of  hard  bone."  ^ 

About  eighteen  was  the  age  at  which  men  generally  mar- 
ried, girls  younger.  A  man  under  thirteen  years  and  a  day 
was  forbidden  to  marry,  and  a  woman  under  twelve  years  and 
a  day.  Wednesday  was  fixed  as  the  day  for  maidens  to 
marry,  and  Thursday  for  widows.  If  the  bride  was  a  maid 
each  party  was  allowed  twelve  months  after  betrothal  in 
which  to  prepare  for  marriage,  in  case  of  a  widow  but  thirty 
days  were  allowed.  A  widower  had  to  wait  over  three  festi- 
vals and  a  widow  three  months  before  re-marrying.  A  mar- 
riage could  not  take  place  within  thirty  days  of  the  death 
of  a  near  relative,  nor  on  the  Sabbath,  nor  on  a  feast-day. 
Marriage  was  not  permitted  with  those  not  in  their  right 
senses,  nor  in  a  state  of  drunkenness.  "The  Mosaic  law 
(Lev.  XVIII.,  7-17;  xx.,  11,  etc.)  proscribes  no  less  than 
fifteen  marriages  within  specified  degrees  of  both  consan- 
guinity and  affinity.  In  neither  consanguinity  and  affinity, 
however,  does  the  law  extend  beyond  two  degrees,  viz.,  the 
mother,  her  daughter,  aunt,  father's  wife,  sister  on  the 
father's  side,  wife  of  the  father's  brother,  brother's  wife  (ex- 
cepting in  case  of  the  Levirate  marriage),  daughter-in-law, 
granddaughter  either  from  a  son  or  daughter,  and  two  sisters 
together."  ^ 

It  was  generally  held  that  all  marriages  were  arranged  in 
heaven  and  that  it  was  proclaimed  there,  forty  days  before 
the  child's  birth,  just  whom  he  or  she  should  marry.  Upon 
earth,  the  parent  assumed  this  part  and  chose  for  his  child 
the  one  he  was  to  have  in  life  as  a  partner.  This  duty 
belonged  to  the  father,  and  if  no  father,  then  the  mother. 
The  son  might  make  a  personal  choice  of  his  bride,  so  that 
the  son's  wishes  might  be  consulted,  but  all  proposals,  never- 
theless, were  made  by  the  father.  Girls  up  to  twelve  years 
and  a  day,  minors,  could  be  betrothed  by  the  father  and  this 
was  true  of  all  women- in  the  earlier  times,  but  later,  if  of 
age,  the  woman  had  to  give  her  own  free  and  expressed  con- 
sent, without  which  a  union  was  invalid.  The  proposals  were 
offered  usually  by  the  parents  of  the  young  man,  but  if  there 

*  Edersheim,  History  of  the  Jewish  nation,  309. 

^  McClintock  and  Strong,  Cyclopedia  of  biblical  literature,  V,  774. 


The  Child  in  Judea  169 

was  a  difference  of  rank  then  they  were  made  by  the  father 
of  the  girl. 

The  betrothal  was  considered  as  sacred  as  marriage  and 
could  not  be  more  easily  broken.  "For  a  betrothal  to  be 
legal,  it  has  to  be  effected  in  one  of  the  following  three  modes : 
1.  By  movey,  or  money's  worth,  which,  according  to  the 
school  of  Shammai,  must  be  a  denar — 90  grains  of  pure  gold 
— or,  according  to  the  school  of  Hillel,  a  perutah — ^half  gi*ain 
of  pure  silver — and  which  is  to  be  given  to  the  maiden,  or, 
if  she  is  a  minor,  to  her  father,  as  betrothal  price.  2.  By 
letter  or  contract,  which  the  young  man  either  in  person  or 
through  a  proxy,  has  given  to  the  maiden,  or  to  her  father 
when  she  is  a  minor.  3.  By  cohabitation,  when  the  young 
man  and  maiden,  having  pronounced  the  betrothal  formula 
in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses,  retire  into  a  separate  room. 
This,  however,  is  considered  immodest,  and  the  young  man 
is  scourged." ' 

A  father  was  to  provide  a  dowry  for  his  daughter  con- 
formable to  her  station  in  life,  and  should  the  father  not  be 
able  to  do  this  the  bridegroom  would,  before  marriage,  give 
her  sufficient  for  the  necessary  outfit.  In  case  of  an  orphan 
the  dowry  was  provided  from  public  funds.  In  earlier  times, 
after  the  giving  over  of  the  marriage  price  and  other  gifts, 
the  bridegroom  took  the  bride  with  him.  At  a  later  period 
a  marriage-feast  was  given  at  the  bride's  homo^  and  at  a 
later  period  yet  the  wedding-feast  was  furnished  at  the  home 
of  the  bridegroom. 

Children  were  very  greatly  desired  by  the  ancient  Hebrews, 
and  especially  male  children,  as  the  more  children  a  man  had 
the  more  was  he  respected.  Also  the  expectance  of  the  Mes- 
siah, who  might  come  from  any  one  of  the  families,  made 
children  all  the  more  wished  for.  Hence  marriage  was  a  duty 
with  them,  and  this  desire  for  children  was  also  a  cause  for 
polygamy  as  thereby  more  children  would  be  born  to  a 
family.  Yet  polygamy  and  concubinage  was  not  the  rule 
with  the  Hebrews  but  the  rare  exception,  so  far  as  the  people 
generally  were  concerned,  so  that  they  really  adopted  mon- 
ogamy and  were,  probably,  the  only  Semites  who  did  so.  Even 
where  polygamy  or  concubinage  did  occur  the  law  insisted 
that  each  wife  or  concubine  should  receive  her  full  conjugal 
rights,  which  prevented  any  extended  practice  even  among 
the  most  wealthy. 

'  McClintock  and  Strong,  Cyclopedia  of  biblical  literature,  V,  774. 


170  The  Historical  Child 

Divorce  was  allowed  for  "any  shameful  thing,"  which, 
necessarily,  was  interpreted  in  different  ways.  "In  fact,  we 
know  that  it  included  every  kind  of  impropriety,  such  as 
going  about  with  loose  hair,  spinning  in  the  street,  familiarly 
talking  with  men,  ill-treating  her  husband's  parents  in  his 
presence,  brawling,  that  is,  '  speaking  to  her  husband  so  loudly 
that  the  neighbors  could  hear  her  in  the  adjoining  house,'  a 
general  bad  reputation,  or  the  discovery  of  fraud  before 
marriage.  On  the  other  hand,  the  wife  could  insist  on  being 
divorced  if  her  husband  were  a  leper,  or  effected  with  po- 
lypus, or  engaged  in  a  disagreeable  or  dirty  trade,  such  as 
that  of  a  tanner  or  coppersmith.  One  of  the  cases  in  which 
divorce  was  obligatory  was,  if  either  party  had  become  heret- 
ical, or  ceased  to  profess  Judaism."*  Yet  divorces  were 
not  so  common  as  might  be  thought  under  so  loose  a  statement 
for  procuring  them.  Rather  strict  laws  were  drawn  up  ex- 
plicitly stating  for  what  divorce  could  be  allowed,  both  to 
man  and  to  woman.  Divorce  was  discouraged  and  a  concilia- 
tion was  always  tried  to  be  brought  about  before  divorce  pro- 
ceedings began.  The  divorced  parties  could  marry  other 
parties  and  even  could  unite  again.  The  bill  of  divorcement 
had  to  be  couched  in  explicit  terms,  handed  to  the  woman 
herself,  and  in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses.  In  separation 
of  the  parents  where  there  were  children,  the  daughters  were 
placed  in  charge  of  the  mother  and  the  sons  were  given  to  the 
father;  but  should  the  judge  consider  it  of  advantage  to  the 
children,  the  sons  also  were  given  to  the  mother. 

In  order  that  children  might  be  of  the  best,  prostitution 
was  not  allowed  and  marriage  with  a  prostitute  forbidden. 
"Marriage  with  a  prostitute  was  contrary  to  law,  and  the 
sons  of  such  a  woman  were  denied  the  political  and  religious 
privileges  of  citizenship  unto  the  tenth  generation."^ 

Care  and  Treatment  of  Children,  Although  all  children 
were  desired  by  the  Hebrews,  yet  there  was  more  rejoicing 
over  the  birth  of  a  boy  than  over  the  birth  of  a  girl.  The 
father  was  not  permitted  to  be  present  at  the  birth  of  the 
child,  although  later  the  child  was  given  to  him,  at  which  time 
he  placed  it  on  his  knees.  Sometimes  the  grandfather  was 
permitted  to  be  present  at  the  birth  of  the  child. 

In  the  earliest  times  the  mothers  nursed  their  own  children, 
prolonging  this  till  the  child  was  two  and  a  half  and  even 

*  Edersheim,  Sketches  of  Jewish  social  life  in  the  days  of  Christ,  157, 
"  Thwing,  The  family,  42. 


The  Child  in  Judea  171 

three  years  old.  In  later  times  the  wealthier  classes  employed 
nurses  for  this  duty.  It  was  the  custom  for  the  boys  to  be 
under  the  care  of  the  women  till  the  fifth  year  after  which 
the  father  took  charge  of  them. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  ceremony  in  the  earlier  years 
of  the  child  was  that  of  circumcision.  The  child  received 
its  name  at  this  time.  Only  males  were  subjected  to  this.  It 
was  performed  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  child's  life,  even 
though  it  was  the  Sabbath.  If  two  of  the  child 's  brothers  had 
died  from  the  results  of  the  operation,  or  if  he  was  weakly, 
this  was  deferred  till  such  a  time  as  there  would  be  no  great 
danger.  This  ceremony  was  of  great  importance  and  so  the 
prescribed  rules  were  strictly  adhered  to,  otherwise  it  was 
not  valid.  Usually  the  father  performed  the  operation,  yet 
it  might  be  done  by  any  Israelite,  and  even  in  special  cases 
by  women. 

The  father  had  full  control  of  his  children.  He  had  the 
power  to  inflict  the  severest  of  punishment,  even  death.  He 
had  greater  power  over  the  daughter  than  over  the  son,  as 
he  could  annul  a  daughter's  vow  but  not  a  son's.  "When  a 
child  has  attained  the  age  of  thirteen  years  and  one  day,  he 
is  declared  of  age  by  his  father  in  the  presence  of  ten  Jews, 
and  then  he  possesses  the  legal  capacity  of  acting  for  himself, 
and  can  make  and  perform  his  own  contracts.  After  that 
the  sins  he  commits  are  on  his  own  account.  Previously  they 
were  on  the  account  of  his  father.  "With  respect  to  girls, 
they  are  accounted  women  when  they  arrive  at  the  age  of 
tweh^e  years  and  one-half."® 

Duties  of  Children.  ' '  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother, ' ' 
was  the  great  commandment  to  the  Hebrew  child.  Unduti- 
fulness  was  almost  unknown  among  them.  Loving  considera- 
tion for  the  parents  was  one  of  their  strongest  marks.  Crimes 
against  parents  were  scarcely  heard  of.  Respect  for  old  age 
was  another  great  duty  and  one  which  was  carefully  observed. 
"The  general  state  of  Jewish  society  shows  us  parents  as 
fondly  watching  over  their  children,  and  children  as  requit- 
ing their  care  by  bearing  with  the  foibles,  and  even  the  trials, 
arising  from  the  caprices  of  old  age  and  infirmity. ' ' '' 

Dress.  The  principal  garment  worn  was  a  tunic,  which 
encircled  the  whole  body  and  came  down  to  the  knees.  Under 
this  was  an  inner  garment  that  went  down  to  the  heels.    Over 

'Dean,  History  of  civilization,  I,  597. 
^  Edersheim,  Sketches  of  Jewish  life,  99. 


172  The  Historical  Child 

all  was  a  mantle,  which  was  a  piece  of  cloth  nearly  square, 
several  feet  in  length  and  breadth,  which  was  wrapped  round 
the  body,  or  tied  over  the  shoulders.  A  girdle  was  worn  about 
the  waist,  some  of  which  worn  by  the  women  were  of  costly 
fabric  and  studded  with  precious  stones.  A  kind  of  turban 
was  worn  on  the  head.  There  were  three  kinds  of  veils  worn. 
One  hung  down  from  the  head,  so  that  the  lady  could  see  all 
around;  a  second  was  a  kind  of  mantilla,  which  covered  the 
head  and  was  thrown  about  the  whole  person;  a  third  kind 
was  like  the  modern  oriental  veil,  covering  the  face  and  front, 
leaving  only  the  eyes  free.  Sandals  were  worn,  and  the 
ladies  also  wore  slippers,  some  of  which  were  very  costly 
being  embroidered  or  adorned  with  gems  and  so  arranged  that 
the  pressure  of  the  foot  emitted  a  delicate  perfume. 

The  hair  was  considered  a  chief  point  of  beauty  and  so  it 
was  well  cared  for.  With  the  women  it  was  worn  long  and 
curled  and  plaited  and  adorned  with  gold  ornaments  and 
pearls.  Auburn  hair  being  a  favorite  color,  sometimes  the 
hair  was  dyed  and  again  it  was  sprinkled  with  gold-dust.  To 
keep  the  hair  in  place,  there  were  hair-pins  and  combs.  Per- 
fumery was  greatly  in  use  as  were  cosmetics,  the  ladies  paint- 
ing their  cheeks  and  blackening  their  eyebrows.  "As  for 
ornaments,  gentlemen  generally  wore  a  seal,  either  on  the 
ring-finger  or  suspended  round  the  neck.  Some  of  them  had 
also  bracelets  above  the  wrist  (commonly  of  the  right  arm), 
made  of  ivory,  gold,  or  precious  stones  strung  together. 
Of  course,  the  fashionable  lady  was  similarly  adorned,  adding 
to  the  bracelets  finger-rings,  ankle-rings,  nose-rings,  ear-rings, 
gorgeous  head-dresses_,  necklaces,  chains,  and  what  are  now- 
adays called  'charms.'  As  it  may  interest  some,  we  shall 
add  a  few  sentences  of  description.  The  ear-ring  was  either 
plain,  or  had  a  drop,  a  pendant,  or  a  little  bell  inserted.  The 
nose-ring,  which  the  traditional  law  ordered  to  be  put  aside 
on  the  Sabbath,  hung  gracefully  over  the  upper  lip,  yet  so 
as  not  to  interfere  with  the  salute  of  the  privileged  friend. 
Two  kinds  of  necklaces  were  worn — one  close-fitting,  the  other 
often  consisting  of  precious  stones  or  pearls,  and  hanging 
down  over  the  chest,  often  as  low  as  the  girdle.  The  fash- 
ionable lady  would  wear  two  or  three  such  chains,  to 
which  smelling-bottles  and  various  ornaments,  even  heathen 
'charms,'  were  attached.  Gold  pendants  descended  from  the 
head-ornament,  which  sometimes  rose  like  a  tower,  or  was 
wreathed   in   graceful   snake-like   coils.     The   anklets  were 


The  Child  in  Judea  173 

generally  so  wrought  as  in  walking  to  make  a  sound  like 
little  bells.  Sometimes  the  two  ankle-rings  were  fastened 
together,  which  would  oblige  the  fair  wearer  to  walk  with 
small,  mincing  steps.  If  to  all  this  we  add  gold  and  diamond 
pins,  and  say  that  our  very  brief  description  is  strictly  based 
upon  contemporary  notices,  the  reader  will  have  some  idea 
of  the  appearance  of  fashionable  society."® 

Amusements.  It  is  presumed  that  Jewish  children  had 
games  as  the  children  of  other  nations,  yet  but  slight  account 
is  given  of  such.  It  is  noted  that  they  kept  tame  birds  and 
imitated  marriages  and  funerals.  They  also  engaged  in  sing- 
ing and  dancing,  but  males  and  females  did  not  dance  to- 
gether, and  the  dancers  performed  according  to  their  feelings, 
wild  and  fantastic,  slow  and  graceful,  nor  were  there  any 
set  forms  for  dancing.  The  youth  must  have  taken  part  in 
the  military  sports  which  took  place  in  public.  Another 
means  of  entertainment  was  that  of  riddles,  Samson's  well- 
known  one  is  an  illustration.  "Riddles  are  still  'put  forth' 
at  weddings.    Here  is  a  common  one : 

Black  as  night,  it  is  not  night; 

It  cuts  its  wings,  it  is  no  bird; 

Damaged  the  house,  it  is  no  mouse;  ' 

It  ate  the  barley  and  is  no  donkey. 

Answer — The  ant."* 

The  following  is  quoted  from  Jerome:  "It  is  customary  in 
the  cities  of  Palestine,  and  has  been  so  from  ancient  times, 
to  place  up  and  down  large  stones  to  serve  for  exercises  for 
the  young,  who,  according  in  each  case  to  their  degrees  of 
strength,  lift  these  stones,  some  as  high  as  their  knees,  others 
to  their  middle,  others  above  their  heads,  the  hands  being  kept 
horizontal  and  joined  under  the  stone.  "^° 

Education.  "If  we  take  a  general,  and  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  to  be  admitted,  a  somewhat  ideal,  view  of  the  education 
of  the  Jewish  race,  we  shall  find  its  beginnings  and  its  spe- 
cific character  expressed  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  Deuteron- 
omy: 'Hear,  0  Israel:  The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord:  And 
thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  might.  And  these  words, 
which  I  command  thee  this  day,  shall  be  in  thine  heart :  And 

*  Edersheim,  Sketches  of  Jewish  life,  218. 

'Lees,  Village  life  in  Palestine,  203. 

"  McClintock  and  Strong,  Cyclopedia  of  biblical  literature,  III,  730. 


174  The  Historical  Child 

thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy  children,  and  shalt 
talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house,  and  when  thoii 
walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when  thou 
risest  up.  .  .  .'  Accordingly,  we  may  say  that  a  present  God, 
whom  to  fear  was  'the  beginning  of  wisdom,'  the  honoring 
of  parents  and  elders,  a  sacred  family  life,  the  memory  of  a 
great  history,  the  practical  wisdom  of  proverbs,  and  a  grad- 
ually growing  lyric  psalmody,  constituted  the  elements  of 
the  education  of  the  masses  down  to  the  time  of  the  Exile."  ^^ 
Thus  the  education  of  the  Hebrew  child  began  at  a  very  early 
age,  as  it  would  be  taught  these  essential  things  as  early  as 
it  could  understand.  The  parents  would  begin  its  training 
in  the  home.  Higher  training,  and  in  fact  anything  beyond 
the  very  rudiments,  was  given  only  to  the  upper  classes.  The 
teachers  for  the  most  part  were  highly  respected.  They  were 
expected  to  be  able  men,  not  too  young,  and  married. 

In  a  general  way  education  among  the  Hebrews  may  be 
divided  into  two  epochs — pre-exilic,  from  the  foundation  of 
the  kingdom  down  to  the  return  from  the  Babylonian  cap- 
tivity, and  post-exilic,  from  the  close  of  the  first  period  to 
the  fall  of  Jerusalem  and  the  final  dispersion  of  the  Jews. 

During  the  first  period  there  was  no  public  means  of  edu- 
cation. Instruction  was  given  by  the  parents,  the  very  young 
child  of  both  sexes  being  under  the  mother's  care,  but  when 
older  the  boys  went  with  the  father  out  into  his  work  and  so 
learned  from  him.  The  young  people  were  taught  the  history 
of  their  own  people,  their  relation  to  God,  the  meaning  of 
the  religious  feasts,  the  needed  ethical  and  social  training, 
and  the  things  necessary  for  making  a  living  and  the  care  of 
the  home.  ' '  Higher  education  was  scarcely  kno\\Ti  until  after 
the  exile.  Even  the  priesthood  and  scribes  were  limited  to 
a  certain  knowledge  of  law,  and  of  historical  and  judicial 
literature.  In  the  schools  of  the  prophets,  besides  theological 
interpretation  and  the  law,  they  apparently  learned  only  the 
arts  of  sacred  music  and  poetry,  whereby  they  were  to  be 
stimulated  to  greater  ecstasy,  and  were  instructed  in  the 
compilation  of  maxims,  narratives,  and  annals.  It  has  been 
claimed  that  they  were  taught  some  mathematics  and  astron- 
omy, to  mark  off  the  religious  festivals,  but  this  is  very 
doubtful."" 

During  the  Captivity,  the  Hebrews  came  in  contact  with 

"Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,  76-77. 

^  Graves,  History  of  education,  Before  the  middle  ages,  124. 


The  Child  in  Judea  175 

the  education  of  Babylon,  so  that  upon  their  return  to  their 
own  country  education  became  more  general  and  this  con- 
tinued to  grow  till  contact  with  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
brought  about  more  general  education  and  the  establishment 
of  schools  for  the  training  of  the  priests  and  the  youth  of 
the  upper  classes,  and  later  public  elementary  schools  began 
to  grow  up  and  became  the  most  prominent  feature  of  Jewish 
education.  Rich  and  poor  alike  attended  these  schools.  Read- 
ing and  writing  and  a  little  arithmetic  were  taught  the  young- 
er pupils,  the  older  pupils  were  given  instruction  in  the  law. 
All  pupils  were  obliged  to  learn  a  trade. 

In  the  teaching  the  children  were  required  to  use  the 
memory  a  great  deal  so  that  frequent  repetition  was  the  prac- 
tice and,  as  in  other  oriental  countries,  the  pupil  was  to  d^ 
this  work  aloud  and  should  he  try  to  do  it  quietly  he  was 
reproved.  In  teaching  the  child  to  read,  he  was  first  given 
the  alphabet,  the  letters  being  placed  on  a  board  for  him  so 
that  he  could  see  them.  The  child  had  to  read  aloud  to  his 
teacher,  who  corrected  his  pronunciation.  The  Hebrew  Bible 
was  begun  to  be  read  by  the  child  at  an  early  age.  In  learning 
to  write,  a  copy  was  made  in  a  wax  tablet  which  the  child 
traced  with  a  stylus,  and  after  awhile  he  followed  a  copy  on 
papyrus  or  parchment  with  a  pen.  In  the  more  advanced 
work,  interpretation  of  the  law,  etc.,  would  be  given  by  the 
instructor,  the  youth,  would  listen  attentively  and  then  strive 
to  reproduce  in  exact  words  what  had  been  given. 

In  the  early  period,  at  least,  discipline  must  have  been  se- 
vere. If  we  are  allowed  to  form  an  opinion  based  on  the  old 
Testament,  then  we  must  conclude  that  the  rod  took  a  prom- 
inent part  in  every  child's  education,  and  from  the  authori- 
ties given  us  it  is  prettj^  certain  that  the  ancient  Jewish 
parent  did  not  spare  the  rod  whether  he  spoiled  the  child 
or  not. 

In  the  early  epoch,  girls  received  but  little  training,  only 
such  as  was  necessary  to  the  carrying  on  of  the  domestic 
duties.  At  no  time  did  girls  receive  such  training  as  the 
boys,  but  in  the  second  epoch  they  were  taught  to  read  and 
to  write  with  dancing  and  music  and  domestic  arts.  Yet  it 
would  seem  that  there  were  some  women  who  showed  training 
beyond  the  simple  subjects  and  who  were  able  to  take  a  place 
alongside  the  educated  men  of  their  times. 

Jewish  education  was  unsj^stematic,  narrow,  and  selfish,  art 
and  science  was  scarcely  known,  and  the  literature  was  lim- 


176  The  Historical  Child 

ited  to  the  ideas  connected  with  their  God.  Yet  there  was 
produced  a  beautiful  family  life,  a  thoughtful  and  kind 
treatment  of  children,  a  higher  position  for  women  than  with 
any  other  oriental  nation,  a  great  reverence  for  parents,  and 
a  true  idea  of  their  relation  to  the  Supreme  Being. 


LITERATURE 

1.  Cornill,  Carl  Heinrich,  The  culture  of  ancient  Israel. 

2.  Dean,  Amos,  The  history  of  civilization. 

3.  Edersheim,  Alfred,  History  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

4.  Edersheim,  Alfred,  Sketches  of  Jewish  social  life  in  the 
days  of  Christ. 

5.  Ellis,  G.  Harold,  The  origin  and  development  of  Jewish 
education.   Pedagogical  seminary,  IX  (1902),  50-62. 

6.  Graves,  Frank  Pierrepont,  A  history  of  education.  Be- 
fore the  middle  ages. 

7.  Laurie,  S.  S.,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  educa- 
tion, 

8.  Lees,  G.  Robinson,  Village  life  in  Palestine. 

9.  Letourneau,  Ch.,  The  evolution  of  marriage. 

10.  Lewis,  Henry  King,  The  child,  its  spiritual  nature. 

11.  McClintock,  John,  and  Strong,  James,  Cyclopasdia  of 
biblical,  theological,  and  ecclesiastical  literature. 

12.  Milraan,  Henry  Hart,  The  history  of  the  Jews  from  the 
earliest  period  down  to  modern  times. 

13.  Thwing,  C.  F.,  The  family. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE   CHILD   IN   GREECE 

Physical  Characteristics.  The  country  of  ancient  Greece, 
as  is  modern  Greece,  was  a  small  peninsula  in  Southeastern 
Europe,  projecting  into  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It  was  a 
mountainous  country,  with  no  navigable  rivers,  and  a  broken 
coast  line  with  many  good  harbors.  There  were  differences 
of  climate,  varying  from  the  excessive  summer  heat  of  the 
plains  on  the  coast  to  the  chilling  atmosphere  of  the  uplands, 
and  yet  as  a  whole  the  climate  tended  to  be  mild  and  even, 
with  a  bracing  and  pure  atmosphere.  Although  it  does  seem 
that  the  spirit  of  freedom  and  independence  was  innate  with 
the  Greeks,  yet  the  character  of  the  country  and  the  climate 
tended  to  emphasize  these  innate  propensities  and  to  bring 
human  culture  to  a  high  development. 

The  People.  In  studying  the  people  of  ancient  Greece, 
there  are  found  two  countries,  although  in  neighboring  sec- 
tions, who  were  almost  the  opposite  in  character  and  the  like. 
These  were  Sparta  and  Athens.  In  both  these  countries 
there  were  three  classes.  In  Sparta  there  were  first  the  citi- 
zens, who  were  the  owners  and  the  rulers  of  the  land ;  in  the 
second  class  were  the  periaeci,  who  lived  in  the  surrounding 
towns  and  country,  and  although  free  yet  they  paid  large 
sums  to  the  citizens  for  the  use  of  the  lands  and  thus  largely 
supported  the  Spartans;  the  third  class  were  the  helots,  who 
were  serfs  or  slaves  and  who  did  all  the  menial  work  for  the 
citizens.  The  first  class  in  Athens  were  the  citizens,  who  con- 
trolled the  country  and  who  reserved  to  themselves  the  sole 
right  of  government  and  the  making  of  laws;  the  second 
class  were  the  aliens,  who  had  settled  in  Athens  for  the  pur- 
pose of  engaging  in  trade  or  commerce,  but  who  had  no  part 
in  politics  or  administration ;  the  third  class  were  the  slaves. 

The  Athenian  and  the  Spartan  were  almost  the  opposite  in 
character.  The  Athenians  were  refined,  patriotic  and  brave, 
but  at  the  same  time  fickle  and  changing.  The  Spartans  were 
as  patriotic  and  brave,  or  even  braver,  than  the  Athenians, 

177 


178  The  Historical  Child 

but  they  were  fixed  and  knew  no  change.  The  Athenians  cul- 
tivated letters  and  the  finer  arts,  while  the  Spartans  prac- 
ticed rigid,  practical  utilitarianism.  The  Athenians  engaged 
in  employments  and  amusements,  but  the  Spartans  did  but 
little  work,  had  few  amusements,  and  spent  their  time  mostl}' 
in  military  training.  The  Spartans  were  cruel  in  disposition, 
as  was  shown  in  their  bearing  toward  the  helots  or  slaves,  as 
they  greatly  oppressed  them  and  often  put  them  to  death; 
while  the  Athenians  treated  their  slaves  kindly. 

The  Home.  In  the  early  times  the  private  buildings  both 
in  Athens  and  in  Sparta  were  simple,  but  in  later  times  the 
houses  became  larger  and  more  splendid.  Yet  there  were, 
perhaps,  not  the  extravagances  as  in  other  countries,  for  in 
Greece  much  of  the  time  was  spent  outdoors  and  away  from 
the  home,  so  that  public  buildings  flourished  and  they  were 
splendidly  built  rather  than  were  the  private  houses. 

In  the  cities  the  houses  were  built  together,  with  only 
party-walls  between  them.  They  were  narrow  in  front  but 
extended  back  to  quite  a  depth.  They  were,  as  a  rule,  built 
on  the  street  but  sometimes  there  was  a  small  space  in  front. 
The  door  opened  out  on  to  the  street,  instead  of  inward,  and 
it  was  a  custom  for  any  one  going  out  to  knock  on  the  door 
to  avoid  opening  out  against  some  one  passing  along  the  street. 

The  walls  of  the  houses  were  a  framework  of  wood,  sun- 
dried  brick,  or  common  stone,  and  covered  with  stucco.  The 
roofs  generally  were  flat,  made  of  beams  laid  close  together 
and  covered  with  cement.  In  the  early  period  the  walls  were 
plain  on  the  inside  and  the  ground  served  for  a  floor,  but 
later  there  were  decorated  walls  and  mosaic  floors. 

There  were  two  principal  divisions  in  the  interior  of  the 
houses,  the  one  for  the  men  and  the  other  for  the  women, 
the  women's  apartments  being  back  of  the  men's.  The  rooms 
were  built  around  one  or  more  open  courts,  by  means  of  which 
light  and  air  were  admitted  to  the  house.  The  homes  were 
furnished  with  chairs  and  tables  and  couches  and  lamps  and 
other  household  furniture  and  the  kitchens  were  provided 
with  pots  and  pans  and  bowls  and  sieves  and  many  other 
articles. 

Girls  and  Women.  In  the  heroic  age  of  Greece,  women 
were  accorded  much  freedom.  Yet  it  would  seem  that  their 
lot  was  not  much  above  that  found  with  women  in  savagery. 
They  had  the  heavy  household  cares  and  duties  of  savage 
women.     They  had  the  management  of  the  provisions — the 


The  Child  m  Greece  179 

grinding  of  the  grain,  the  preparing  of  the  meals,  etc.  They 
had  to  look  after  the  clothing,  doing  the  spinning  and  the 
weaving  and  the  making  of  the  garments.  They  carried  the 
heavy  burdens  of  domestic  life  along  with  the  care  of  the 
children.  Yet  the  women  were  well  respected  and  had  high 
standing  with  the  men  of  that  time. 

In  Sparta  the  state  was  everything.  Strong  and  vigorous 
men  were  needed  to  protect  the  state  and  so  must  be  provided 
for  military  life,  and  the  mothers  who  were  to  bear  them 
must  be  strong  and  courageous.  The  girls  and  women  were 
allowed  much  greater  freedom  than  in  other  parts  of  Greece. 
The  girls  received  vigorous  training,  such  as  was  given  to 
the  boys,  having  contests  among  themselves  and  even  some- 
times with  the  boys.  In  some  of  these  contests  the  girls  had 
to  divest  themselves  of  their  apparel  and  appear  thus  before 
the  public.  This  coming  in  contact  with  the  males,  the  great 
freedom  allowed  to  them,  and  the  vigorous  training  did  not 
spoil  the  purity  of  the  girls,  for  adultery  was  scarcely  known 
in  Sparta.  Nor  did  the  training  impair  their  physical  ap- 
pearance, as  the  Spartan  women  were  noted  for  their  beauty 
of  person,  although  on  account  of  the  vigorous  physical  train- 
ing this  beauty  was  somewhat  of  a  masculine  type. 

"Women  in  Athens  were  treated  quite  differently  to  what 
they  were  in  Sparta.  There  was  seemingly  a  contempt  by  the 
men  for  the  women  and  especially  so  among  the  leaders  and 
rulers.  "The  most  enlightened  of  the  Greeks  limited  the 
duties  of  a  good  wife,  housewife,  and  mother,  to  the  following 
points :  1.  That  she  should  be  faithful  to  her  husband.  2.  That 
she  should  go  abroad  and  expose  herself  to  the  view  of 
strangers  as  little  as  possible.  3.  That  she  should  take  care 
of  what  the  husband  acquired,  and  spend  it  with  frugality; 
and,  4.  That  she  should  pay  maternal  attention  to  the  younger 
children  of  both  sexes,  and  keep  an  incessantly  watchful  eye 
upon  her  grown-up  daughters. ' '  ^ 

In  Athens  the  women  were  closely  watched  and  carefully 
guarded.  They  were  usually  placed  in  the  back  part  of  the 
house  and  in  the  highest  rooms,  and  for  the  most  part  the 
women  and  girls  passed  their  time  in  the  apartments  allotted 
to  them.  There  was  no  intercourse  between  young  men  and 
young  women.  Women  were  considered  men's  inferiors  and 
they  were  thought  little  better  than  the  slaves  and  they  had 
but  little  more  influence  with  the  men.    Woman  was  looked 

'Dean,  History  of  civilization,  II,  176. 


180  The  Historical  Child 

upon  as  an  entirely  lower  being  intellectually  tlian  man,  and 
so  not  a  fit  companion  for  him  in  public  life.  When  men 
outside  the  household  were  present  in  the  home,  the  women 
were  expected  to  seclude  themselves.  When  a  dinner  was 
being  given  the  company  consisted  entirely  of  men  and  the 
wife  kept  herself  and  her  children  in  the  women's  quarters. 
The  young  women  rarely  went  from  home.  Even  if  it  was 
necessary  for  them  to  appear  in  public  religious  ceremonies, 
they  did  not  take  part  in  common  with  the  other  sex  but 
acted  apart  from  them. 

Thus  the  training  of  the  Athenian  girl  and  that  of  the 
Spartan  girl  were  quite  in  contrast  and  while  the  Athenian 
girl  grew  up  to  be  a  pale,  slender  lady,  but  little  versed  in 
the  ways  of  the  world,  the  Spartan  girl  grew  up  to  be  a 
vigorous,  robust,  healthy  woman,  ready  even  to  take  part  in 
public  debate  if  necessary.  Yet  there  was  at  least  one  class 
of  women  in  Athens  not  secluded,  for  "in  the  London  mar- 
ket of  Billingsgate  it  is  the  fishwomen  who  have  been  notori- 
ous for  abusive  language;  at  Athens  it  was  the  bread- 
women."  ^ 

A  discussion  of  the  women  of  Greece  could  not  be  complete 
without  including  the  much  discussed  but  little  understood 
class  known  as  the  Hetairai,  the  stranger-women  of  Athens. 
Whether  they  were  simply  courtesans  or  whether  they  were 
women  seeking  freedom  from  the  restraints  and  seclusion  of 
the  wife  or  whether  they  were  both  courtesans  and  seeking 
freedom  and  education,  they  certainly  exercised  a  remarkable 
influence  in  Greece. 

There  were  two  classes  of  women  at  Athens,  the  first  class 
being  the  wives  and  mothers,  the  citizen-women  of  Athens, 
and  the  other  class  being  the  stranger-women.  Athens  did 
not  exclude  strangers  and  indeed  it  was  an  attractive  place 
to  foreigners.  "The  city  itself  was  full  of  attractions  for 
the  stranger,  with  its  innumerable  works  of  art,  its  brilliant 
dramatic  exhibitions,  its  splendid  religious  processions,  its 
gay  festivals,  its  schools  of  philosophy,  and  its  keen  political 
life."^  Although  they  did  not  exclude  strangers  from  the 
city,  yet  they  did  exclude  them  from  governing  citizenship. 
Nor  was  a  citizen,  male  or  female,  allowed  to  marry  a  stranger 
and  severe  penalties  were  inflicted  on  those  who  broke  this 

'  Tucker,  Life  in  ancient  Athens,  122. 

'  Donaldson,  Woman,  Her  position  and  influence  in  ancient  Greece  and 
Rome  and  among  the  early  Christians,  56. 


The  Child  in  Greece  181 

law.  Since  the  stranger-women  could  not  marry  Athenian 
men,  they  had  to  gain  their  companionship  by  other  means. 
The  citizen-women,  the  native  women  of  Athens,  were  not 
allowed  the  company  of  men  nor  were  they  given  high  ac- 
complishments. "The  names  of  these  wives  are  not  to  be 
found  in  history.  But  the  influence  of  the  Companions  came 
more  and  more  into  play.  Almost  every  famous  man,  after 
this  date,  has  one  Companion  with  whom  he  discusses  the 
pursuits  and  soothes  the  evils  of  his  life.  Plato  had  Arche- 
anassa,  Aristotle  Her py His,  Epicurus  Leontium,  Isocrates 
Metaneira,  Menander  Glycera,  and  others  in  like  manner. 
And  some  of  them  attained  the  highest  positions.  .  .  .  Some 
were  renowned  for  their  musical  ability,  and  a  few  could 
paint.  They  cultivated  all  the  graces  of  life;  they  dressed 
with  exquisite  taste ;  they  took  their  food,  as  a  comic  poet  re- 
marks, with  refinement,  and  not  like  the  citizen'women,  who 
crammed  their  cheeks,  and  tore  away  at  the  meat.  And 
they  were  witty.  They  also  occupied  the  attention  of  his- 
torians."* "Thus  arose  a  most  unnatural  division  of  func- 
tions among  the  women  of  those  days.  The  citizen-women 
had  to  be  mothers  and  housewives — nothing  more ;  the 
stranger-women  had  to  discharge  the  duties  of  companions, 
but  remain  outside  the  pale  of  the  privileged  and  marriage- 
able class."  ® 

The  two  most  noted  of  the  hetairai  were  Aspasia  and 
Phryne.  "Phryne,  the  most  beautiful  woman  that  ever  lived, 
attracted  the  eyes  of  all  Greece;  Apelles  painted  her,  and 
Praxiteles  made  her  the  model  for  the  Cnidian  Aphrodite, 
the  most  lovely  representation  of  woman  that  ever  came  from 
sculptor's  chisel."^  "Aspasia,  the  beautiful,  accomplished, 
and  highly  gifted  woman,  a  native  of  Miletus,  first  the  mis- 
tress and  subsequently  the  wife  of  Pericles,  exercised  an 
influence  and  a  power  in  Greece  very  greatly  superior  to  any 
ever  exercised  there  by  any  other  woman.  She  was  endowed 
with  a  mind  more  beautiful  than  her  beautiful  form.  Her 
genius  drew  around  her  all  those  who  had  a  taste  for  the 
beautiful,  or  a  desire  to  cultivate  their  minds.  At  her  house, 
eloquence,  politics  and  philosophy  were  daily  discussed,  and 
ladies  of  the  highest  rank  resorted  thither  to  acquire  som6 
of   the    accomplishments   by   which   she   was   distinguished. 

*  Donaldson,  Woman,  71-72. 
*Ibid.,  58. 
'Ibid.,  71. 


182  The  Historical  Child 

Large  concessions  must  certainly  be  made  to  the  mind  that 
could  be  a  fit  companion  for  Pericles,  and  could  teach  rheto- 
ric to  Socrates."  ^ 

Majrriag"e.  In  most  cases  Greek  marriage  was  not  an 
affair  of  the  heart,  for  young  people  had  but  little  oppor- 
tunity to  be  with  one  another  for  love-making.  Marriage 
for  the  man  was  rather  a  matter  of  convenience,  for  the 
purpose  of  the  continuation  of  his  family.  This  was  a  duty 
he  owed  to  himself  and  to  the  state,  for  the  state  must  have 
citizens  for  its  perpetuation.  To  the  Greek  public  life  meant 
everything,  the  home  counted  but  little.  The  wife's  duties 
were  considered  to  be  the  attending  to  household  affairs  and 
the  bearing  of  children. 

Marriage  had  to  be  with  the  consent  of  the  parents.  The 
young  woman  had  no  control  over  her  person  as  she  was 
under  the  charge  of  her  father,  and  upon  his  death  of  a 
brother,  and  in  case  of  no  brother  then  the  grandfather,  and 
last  her  guardian.  The  father  not  only  had  power  over  his 
daughter's  marriage  in  his  lifetime  but  also  after  his  death 
as  he  could  bequeath  her  by  will.  And  yet  more,  for  upon 
his  deathbed  he  could  betroth  his  wife  to  another  person  and 
even  he  could  bequeath  her  in  his  will  to  another. 

In  order  for  the  children  to  be  legitimate  both  parties  had 
to  be  citizens  of  the  state,  and  equality  of  birth  and  wealth 
were  the  chief  considerations.  The  man  could  not  marry  in 
the  direct  line  of  his  own  descent,  yet  he  could  marry  his 
half-sister  on  his  father's  side,  which  was  rarely  done.  There 
was  usually  some  years  of  difference  in  the  age  of  bride  and 
groom,  the  young  woman  being  from  fifteen  to  twenty  and 
the  young  man  from  twenty-four  to  thirty.  Marriages  were 
most  frequent  in  the  winter,  January  being  the  favorite 
month,  and  when  the  omens  were  favorable,  the  most  favor- 
able being  at  the  time  at  which  there  happened  to  be  a  con- 
junction of  the  sun  and  the  moon.  The  selections  and  ar- 
rangements were  usually  made  by  the  father  or  the  guardian 
but  often  a  professional  matchmaker  was  employed,  who  was 
well  informed  in  regard  to  the  marriageable  young  people. 
When  the  marriage  was  determined  upon,  the  betrothal  took 
place,  which  was  made  by  the  legal  guardian  of  the  young 
woman  and  in  the  presence  of  friends  and  relatives  of  both 
parties,  the  dowry  of  the  wife  being  agreed  upon  at  the  time. 

In  ancient  Greece  the  lover  would  often  write  the  name 

'  Dean,  History  of  civilization  II,  179. 


The  Child  in  Greece  183 

of  his  loved  one  on  walls  and  columns  and  carve  it  on  trees. 
He  would  even  write  the  beloved  name  on  the  leaves  of  the 
trees.  The  lover  would  send  verses  to  his  lady  love.  He 
would  decorate  her  door  with  flowers  and  garlands.  He 
would  wear  a  wreath  on  his  head  awry  or  wear  it  untied,  as 
a  token  of  his  being  in  love.  Sometimes  the  lover  would  make 
an  image  of  wax,  call  it  by  the  name  of  his  loved  one,  and 
place  it  near  a  fire,  as  the  heat  was  supposed  to  melt  the  hard 
heart  of  her  he  loved  as  it  melted  her  wax  image. 

Love  potions  were  in  common  use  as  were  also  antidotes 
to  love.  "Some  herbs  were  made  use  of  for  this  purpose, 
also  insects  bred  from  putrid  matter ;  the  lamprey,  the  lizard, 
the  brains  of  a  calf,  the  hair  on  the  extremity  of  the  wolf's 
tail,  with  some  of  his  secret  parts,  and  the  bones  of  the  left 
side  of  a  toad  eaten  by  ants.  The  bones  on  the  right  side 
were  supposed  to  cause  hatred.  Besides  these,  were  also  used 
the  blood  of  doves,  the  bones  of  snakes,  the  feathers  of  screech 
owls,  and  bands  of  wool  twisted  upon  a  wheel,  more  especially 
such  as  had  been  bound  about  a  person  that  hanged  himself. 
.  .  .  The  Greeks  also  professed  to  have  the  means  of  allaying 
the  passion  of  love,  at  least  of  that  species  of  it  which  orig- 
inated from  magical  incantations.  The  antidotes  were  of 
two  kinds.  The  one  consisted  of  those  substances  which  pos- 
sessed some  natural  virtue,  to  which  the  production  of  the 
effect  might  be  attribuated,  as  the  herbs  which  were  sup- 
posed enemies  to  generation.  The  other  included  all  such  as 
wrought  the  cure  by  some  occult  or  mystical  power,  and  by 
the  assistance  of  demons.  As  instances  of  this  latter,  may  be 
cited  the  sprinkling  of  the  dust  in  which  a  mule  had  rolled 
herself,  and  the  confining  of  toads  in  the  hide  of  a  beast  lately 
slain.  Another  method  of  curing  love,  was  to  wash  in  the 
water  of  the  river  Selemnus.  "* 

In  the  Homeric  time  in  Greece,  the  suitor  paid  the  father 
for  his  bride,  thus  purchasing  her.  But  in  later  times  this 
was  entirely  changed  and  the  bride  was  expected  to  bring 
a  dowry  with  her.  Among  the  wealthy  this  dowry  was  sup- 
posed to  consist  partly  in  cash  and  partly  in  clothes,  jewelry, 
and  slaves.  The  husband  had  to  give  security  for  it,  as  in 
case  of  divorce  it  was  returned  to  the  bride  or  to  her  parents 
and  in  case  of  her  death  it  did  not  go  to  the  husband  but  to 
the  nearest  of  kin.  Where  there  was  a  daughter  of  a  poor, 
deserving  citizen,  and  especially  if  her  ancestors  had  been 

'Dean,  History  of  civilization,  II,  167-168. 


184  The  Historical  Child 

serviceable  to  the  state,  she  was  provided  a  dowry  by  the 
state.  Sometimes  the  dowry  was  given  to  such  a  girl  by  a 
number  of  citizens.  The  dowry  was  supposed  to  give  the 
wife  better  standing  and  thus  bring  more  respect  from  the 
husband  and  greater  freedom.  A  woman  might  carry  so 
great  dowry  to  her  husband  as  to  make  her  the  stronger 
partner  and  so  be  able  to  have  her  husband  in  submission  to 
her  and  her  money. 

The  day  of  the  wedding  having  arrived,  offerings  were 
made  to  the  deities  that  protected  marriage,  the  oath  of 
fidelity  was  taken,  and  the  father  declared  that  he  gave  his 
daughter  to  the  man.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  both  were 
bathed,  at  Athens  the  water  being  taken  from  a  famous  foun- 
tain, and  they  were  dressed  in  their  wedding-garments,  both 
bride  and  bridegroom  being  richly  adorned  and  wearing  upon 
their  heads  garlands  of  various  herbs  and  flowers.  The  bride 
was  then  led  from  her  home  and  placed  in  a  chariot  between 
the  bridegroom  and  his  best  man.  They  then  drove  slowly 
through  the  streets,  the  bride's  mother  following  them  and 
carrying  the  wedding  torches,  kindled  at  the  parental  hearth, 
and  a  procession  of  relatives  and  friends  followed.  At  the 
bridegroom's  home  the  axle-tree  of  the  chariot  was  broken 
or  burned,  to  designate  that  the  bride  having  found  a  new 
home  would  never  return  to  her  old  home.  The  bridegroom 's 
house  was  decked  with  garlands  and  brilliantly  illuminated. 
The  couple  were  met  by  his  mother  bearing  torches,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  group  of  dancing-girls  they  came  to  the  door, 
and  at  the  threshold  the  bride  made  a  pretense  of  not  wish- 
ing to  enter,  when  the  bridegroom  seized  her  and  carried  her 
inside,  seeing  that  her  feet  did  not  touch  the  sill.  All  then 
partook  of  a  feast,  consisting  of  wines,  meats,  sweetmeats, 
and  wedding-cake,  the  women  with  the  veiled  bride  among 
them  sitting  apart  from  the  men.  The  final  ceremony  con- 
sisted in  the  eating  of  a  quince  by  husband  and  wife  together, 
to  signify,  perhaps,  because  of  the  bitter-sweetness,  that  they 
should  partake  of  the  sweets  and  bitters  of  life  together,  our 
"for  better  or  worse."  Then  the  guests  departed  and  the 
couple  entered  the  bridal  chamber,  where  for  the  first  time 
the  bride  unveiled  herself  to  her  husband.  At  the  last  tho 
bridal  hymn  was  sung  before  their  door  by  a  chorus  of  maid- 
ens. The  next  morning  the  chorus  returned  and  saluted  the 
married  couple  with  songs.  This  was  the  day  of  ''unveil- 
ing," as  the  bride  unveiled  herself,  and  the  newly  married 


The  Child  in  Greece  185 

couple  spent  the  entire  day  in  receiving  visits  with  saluta- 
tions and  presents  from  their  friends. 

"The  marriage  ceremonies  of  the  Spartans  differed  from 
those  of  all  the  other  Greeks.  Instead  of  having  a  public 
celebration,  everything  was  there  done  in  as  private  a  man- 
ner as  possible.  When  everything  had  been  settled  between 
the  parties,  the  bridegroom  at  night  made  a  secret  visit  to  his 
bride  at  her  father's  house.  Before  day  he  returned  to  his 
comrades,  at  the  gymnasia,  and  never,  for  a  long  time,  visited 
his  wife  except  at  night  and  by  stealth,  as  it  was  accounted  a 
disgrace  to  be  seen  coming  out  of  his  wife's  apartment.  They 
sometimes  lived  in  this  clandestine  manner  for  years,  not 
unfrequently  having  children  by  their  wives  before  they 
ever  saw  their  faces  i)y  daylight."  ® 

As  citizenship  was  limited  in  the  states  of  Greece,  it  became 
highly  important  that  the  citizens  should  perpetuate  the  state 
by  marrying  and  having  children.  So  the  state  would  en- 
courage marriage  and  make  it  honorable  and  likewise  almost 
compulsory  and  unmarried  men  would  not  be  wanted  nor 
would  marriage  deferred  till  late  in  life  be  considered  the 
best  for  the  state.  In  both  Athens  and  Sparta  bachelors 
were  subject  to  a  legal  penalty.  In  Athens  those  who  held 
public  office  and  were  entrusted  with  public  affairs  had  to 
be  married,  to  have  children,  and  to  have  estates  in  land. 
Sparta  was  quite  severe  on  the  bachelors.  If  a  man  delayed 
marriage  after  a  specified  age,  he  subjected  himself  to  a 
number  of  penalties.  One  was  for  once  each  winter  to  go 
naked  around  the  market-place  and  sing  a  song  ridiculing 
his  bachelorhood.  Such  men  were  not  permitted  to  be  present 
at  the  contests  wherein  young  women  engaged  in  a  nude 
condition.  Upon  the  celebration  of  a  certain  solemnity,  the 
bachelors  were  dragged  around  the  altar  by  the  women  who 
beat  them  with  their  fists.  When  these  men  became  old  they 
were  not  accorded  that  high  respect  which  the  young  of 
Sparta  was  accustomed  to  pay  to  the  aged. 

Monogamy  was  early  established  in  Greece  as  the  basis 
of  society.  There  were  some  instances  of  polygamy  or  rather 
concubinage  in  the  early  ages  and  on  some  occasions  where 
large  number  of  men  were  lost  in  war  or  from  other  causes. 
This  might  have  been  resorted  to  in  order  to  replenish  the 
state  but  this  was  of  rare  occurrence. 

In  early  times  in  Greece  divorce  was  in  the  hands  of  the 

•Dean,  History  of  civilization,  II,  173. 


186  The  Historical  Child 

husband  and  he  could  exercise  it  whenever  he  felt  that  he 
was  justified  but  in  later  times  this  right  was  somewhat  re- 
stricted. The  Spartans  seldom  divorced  their  wives.  In 
Athens  divorce  was  easy  for  the  man,  but  a  bill  of  divorce 
was  required  to  be  presented  to  the  magistrate  in  which  the 
reasons  for  the  divorce  were  set  forth.  They  would,  no 
doubt,  have  been  more  frequent  had  it  not  been  that  in 
divorce  the  husband  had  to  restore  the  dowry  to  the  wife 
or  pay  her  a  sum  each  month  for  her  support.  For  a  man 
to  divorce  his  wife  was  considered  a  great  dishonor  to  her. 
It  was  difficult  for  a  woman  to  procure  a  divorce,  Athens 
being  more  favorable  to  women  in  this  respect  than  the  other 
states  of  Greece.  But  here  she  had  to  present  a  bill  of 
grievances  to  the  magistrate  and  it  required  his  action  before 
separation  could  take  place.  "The  terms  expressing  the 
separation  of  men  and  women  from  each  other  were  different. 
The  men  were  said  to  dismiss  their  wives ;  to  loose  them  from 
their  obligations;  to  cast  them  out;  to  send  them  away;  to 
put  them  away.  If  a  woman  left  her  husband,  it  was  termed 
simply  to  depart  from  him."^° 

Dress.  The  articles  of  dress  worn  by  the  Greeks  were  of 
two  kinds — one  drawn  on  or  got  into,  a  tunic,  called  by  the 
general  term  endymata;  the  other  thrown  over  the  person,  a 
mantle,  known  as  the  epihlemata.  Of  the  first  kind  the  chiton 
was  the  representative  garment,  which  was  worn  next  to  the 
body.  The  chiton  in  its  usual  form  w^as  an  oblong  piece  of 
cloth  and  thrown  about  the  body  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave 
an  opening  for  one  arm  to  go  through,  while  the  two  ends 
of  the  open  side  were  fastened  over  the  other  shoulder  by 
means  of  a  buckle  or  clasp.  Sometimes  the  chiton  was  made 
with  two  sleeves,  with  one  sleeve,  or  with  short  sleeves.  In 
some  cases,  as  with  workmen,  it  was  thrown  across  the  leff 
shoulder  with  the  right  arm  and  shoulder  entirely  bare,  so 
as  to  be  left  free  for  action.  The  chiton  was  fastened  about 
the  waist  by  a  ribbon  or  girdle.  The  representative  of  the 
epiblemata  was  known  as  the  himation.  This  was  also  an 
oblong  piece  of  cloth,  one  comer  of  which  was  thrown  over 
the  left  shoulder  in  front,  drawn  across  the  back  to  the  right 
side,  sometimes  below  the  right  arm  and  sometimes  over  it, 
and  then  it  was  thrown  again  over  the  left  shoulder. 

Boys  commonly  wore  only  the  chiton.  The  young  men, 
from  the  age  of  seventeen  to  twenty,  called  the  ephehi,  in- 

"  Dean,  History  of  civilization,  II,  174. 


The  Child  in  Greece  187 

stead  of  tlie  himation  wore  the  chlamys,  which  was  an  oblong 
cloth,  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder  and  the  open  ends  were 
fastened  over  the  right  shoulder  with  a  clasp.  The  himation 
of  Sparta  was  smaller  than  that  at  Athens,  scarcely- 
covering  the  person,  and  which  was  called  the  tribon.  The 
women  wore  the  chiton  and  the  himation  and  in  addition 
they  wore  another  garment  over  the  chiton,  called  the 
crocoios,  which  sometimes  had  sleeves  and  was  of  a  rich 
purple  or  saffron  color  and  frequently  had  a  broad  border 
of  embroidery.  The  Doric  maidens  usually  wore  but  a  single 
loose  woolen  garment.  It  was  without  sleeves  and  fastened 
over  the  shoulders  with  clasps.  It  usually  extended  about 
half  way  to  the  knees,  it  was  worn  with  or  without  a  girdle, 
and  the  left  side  was  left  open,  which  might  or  might  not 
have  been  fastened  with  a  buckle  or  clasp. 

The  garments  were  made  of  linen,  cotton,  or  wool,  and  in 
later  times  silk  also  was  used.  White  was,  perhaps,  the 
prevailing  color  and  yet  many  colors  were  used,  as,  purple, 
red,  green,  yellow,  gray,  brown,  olive,  azure,  cherry,  and 
changeable  colors.  If  the  entire  dress  was  not  colored,  it 
might  have  had  colored  borders,  embroidery,  or  stripes, 
worked  in  or  sewed  on,  and  sometimes  there  were  fringes 
or  tassels.  The  undergarment,  in  time  of  mourning,  was 
sometimes  black. 

The  Greeks,  both  men  and  women,  were  especially  careful 
of  the  hair.  The  men  wore  their  hair  and  beard  long  and 
they  had  the  hair  curled  or  braided  and  bound  up  in  a  large 
bunch  on  top  of  the  head  or  it  might  be  arranged  along  the 
forehead  and  kept  in  place  with  golden  grasshoppers. 
Dandies  went  to  extremes  and  let  their  hair  grow  till  it  fell 
down  on  the  shoulders.  Most  of  the  men  had  thick  hair.  In 
the  cities  the  men  usually  went  bareheaded  but  sometimes 
they  wore  hats  or  caps,  when  at  work  and  on  journeys. 

The  Grecian  women  for  the  most  part  had  long,  rich  hair 
and,  naturally,  they  took  even  more  care  of  it  than  did  the 
men  with  their  hair.  Sometimes  it  was  allowed  to  fall  loosely 
down  the  back ;  sometimes  the  hair  was  combed  over  the  back 
in  waving  lines  and  a  ribbon  tied  around  the  head ;  it  might 
be  that  the  front  hair  was  combed  back  over  the  temples  and 
ears  and  tied  at  the  back  of  the  head  in  a  knot,  held  in  place 
with  hairpins  of  ivory,  bronze,  bone,  gold,  or  silver ;  and  there 
were  many  other  ways  of  keeping  the  hair. 

The  hair  of  children  was  carefully  attended  to.    The  girls' 


188  The  Historical  Child 

hair  was  often  twisted  into  artistic  curls  and  then  drawn  to- 
gether over  the  forehead  and  held  by  a  fancy  comb.  In 
Sparta  the  boys'  hair  was  kept  short  till  their  majority  had 
been  reached,  when  it  was  allowed  to  grow  long.  Among  the 
Athenians  the  hair  of  the  boys  was  permitted  to  grow  till 
they  had  reached  maturity,  when  it  was  cut  off  and  burned 
to  some  deity,  after  which  it  was  allowed  to  grow  long  again. 

There  were  oils,  perfumes,  ointments,  and  essences  for  the 
hair.  Curling-irons  were  in  use  for  curling  the  hair.  Pow- 
ders were  used  on  the  hair  and  especially  the  kind  that  gave 
it  an  auburn  color.  There  were  dyes  for  the  hair  and  they 
were  well  resorted  to.  Nets  were  used  by  the  ladies  to  en- 
close their  hair,  and  veils  of  a  light  fabric  and  of  transparent 
texture  were  worn.  On  festive  occasions  wreaths  and  gar- 
lands were  worn  by  both  men  and  women. 

Among  the  Greeks  the  hands  were  not  usually  covered, 
gloves  rarely  being  worn.  The  feet  were  not  covered  in 
the  house  and  even  sometimes  in  the  street  there  was  no 
covering  to  the  feet.  There  was  a  great  variety  of  foot-wear 
from  the  simple  sandal  to  the  high  boot,  the  three  main 
kinds  being  the  sandal,  the  shoe,  and  the  boot. 

The  sandal  was  the  simplest  form  of  foot-covering.  This 
consisted  of  a  sole  of  wood  or  leather,  or  it  might  be  two 
pieces  of  leather  with  a  piece  of  cork  between.  This  was 
held  on  the  foot  by  means  of  a  strap  or  thong  passing  be- 
tween the  big  toe  and  the  next  and  running  back  along  the 
top  of  the  foot  and  fastened  to  another  strap  going  over  the 
instep  and  another  that  passed  round  the  back  of  the  heel. 
Occasionally  slippers  were  worn,  which  among  the  women 
were  ornamented  with  needle  work. 

From  the  sandal  was  evolved  the  half  shoe,  covering  the 
front  part  of  the  foot,  and  then  the  shoe,  covering  all  the 
foot,  which  arose  from  the  addition  of  a  closed  heel  and 
smaller  or  larger  side-pieces  sewed  to  the  sole.  The  working- 
people  of  both  town  and  country  had  the  soles  studded  with 
iron  nails,  while  the  dandy  in  the  city  might  have  had  gold 
or  silver  nails  in  his  shoes.  The  women  regulated  their  stat- 
ure, increasing  or  diminishing  the  height,  by  means  of  high 
or  low  heels  and  soles  of  different  thickness.  The  children 
at  Athens  began  to  wear  shoes  at  an  early  age.  In  the  boot 
the  covering  reached  to  the  calf  of  the  leg,  open  in  front, 
and  fastened  with  laces. 

In  the  footwear  was  where  novelty  and  taste  was  shown 


The  Child  in  Greece  189 

by  the  Greeks.  There  was  fashion  in  shoes  and  they  often 
were  named  for  those  who  originated  the  styles.  They  were 
very  careful  about  neatness  of  fit  and  appearance.  It  was 
not  considered  good  taste  to  wear  patched  or  mended  shoes. 
Black,  white,  and  colored  shoes  were  worn.  Blacking  was 
used,  which  was  a  kind  of  polish.  The  material  was  usually 
leather  but  felt  also  was  used  and  slippers  were  sometimes 
made  of  linen.  Socks  and  stockings  seem  to  have  been  worn, 
but  they  were  not  in  common  use. 

In  the  heroic  times  of  Greece,  as  described  by  Homer,  men 
wore  earrings,  necklaces,  armlets,  fancy  girdles,  hair  orna- 
ments, and  finger-rings.  In  later  times  all  these  were  dis- 
carded except  the  finger-rings,  and  these  were  usually  signet 
rings.  The  women  continued  to  use  all  kinds  of  ornaments. 
They  wore  both  signet  and  jeweled  rings  on  their  fingers, 
some  of  the  latter  being  set  with  beautiful  and  costly  jewels; 
they  wore  necklaces  of  many  patterns,  varying  from  the  sim- 
ple ring  to  elaborate  pendants;  they  wore  armlets,  bracelets, 
and  anklets,  usually  in  the  form  of  spiral  snakes ;  they  wore 
a  diadem  or  fillet  to  keep  the  hair  in  place ;  they  wore  orna- 
mented girdles.  The  ornaments  mentioned  above  were 
usually  of  gold  and  adorned  with  gems,  as  they  used  many 
kinds  of  precious  stones. 

The  ladies  dyed  their  hair  and  bleached  it  and  increased 
its  amount  by  adding  other  hair;  they  used  tooth-powder; 
they  blackened  their  eyebrows;  a  dark  complexion  was  whit- 
ened and  one  too  pale  was  rouged;  their  lips  were  touched 
with  Vermillion.  To  aid  in  this  decorating,  they  had  mirrors, 
which  were  made  of  bronze  and  usually  circular,  either  with- 
out a  handle  or  with  one  richly  adorned. 

The  ladies  had  parasols,  much  like  the  ones  at  present, 
which  could  open  and  shut  by  means  of  wires,  and  which  they 
carried  themselves  or  had  servants  to  hold  over  them.  They 
had  fans  of  peacocks'  feathers  or  of  thin  light  wood.  Canes 
were  used  by  the  men  both  in  Sparta  and  Athens,  which  were 
mostly  of  great  length  and  with  crook  handles. 

The  ladies  of  Old  Greek  times  well  understood  how  to 
adorn,  enhance,  and  remodel  the  human  figure.  As  was 
stated  above,  they  hung  on  to  the  figure  all  kinds  of  orna- 
ments— rings,  necklaces,  earrings,  bracelets,  etc. ;  they  could 
curl  and  dye  and  increase  the  amount  of  hair;  they  painted 
and  powdered  the  cheeks  and  eyebrows  and  lips;  they  knew 
how  to  increase  or  diminish  the  stature  by  means  of  the  heels 


190  The  Historical  Child 

and  soles  of  the  shoes;  and  they  knew  the  art  of  enlarging 
or  diminishing  the  figure  by  means  of  corsets  and  padding. 
Not  only  did  they  know  all  these  things,  but  also  they  under- 
stood how  to  display  to  best  advantage  any  part  of  the  figure 
that  was  beautiful,  as,  a  woman  having  pretty  white  teeth 
knew  how  and  when  to  laugh  to  best  display  them  and  the 
handsome  mouth. 

Food.  In  the  earlier  times  of  Greece,  when  the  food  sup- 
ply was  limited  to  a  narrow  territory,  there  was  frugality  and 
little  variety.  As  commerce  increased  the  food  supply  became 
greater  and  of  a  varied  character,  and  yet  the  Greeks  were 
for  the  most  part  frugal  and  temperate. 

There  were  usually  three  meals  a  day — a  light  breakfast, 
a  heavier  meal  near  midday,  while  the  principal  meal  was 
toward  the  close  of  the  day.  When  the  family  ate  alone,  the 
father  reclined  on  a  couch,  the  mother  sat  on  a  chair  near 
him,  and  the  children  sat  about  them,  the  younger  perhaps 
on  the  mother's  lap  or  on  the  couch  by  the  father. 

The  bread  was  made  from  wheat  and  barley  and  also  from 
rye,  millet,  spelt,  and  rice.  The  bread  sold  by  the  bread- 
women  in  Athens  had  a  big  reputation  all  over  Greece. 
Among  their  cakes  was  one  made  of  wheat  and  honey,  an- 
other of  rice,  cheese,  eggs,  and  honey,  and  a  third  of  cheese, 
eggs,  and  garlic.  Beef,  mutton,  goat's  flesh,  and  pork,  were 
the  most  common  meats.  Poultry  was  abundant  and  eggs 
were  used  in  various  ways.  There  was  plenty  of  wild  game, 
as,  the  partridge,  wild  pigeons,  wild  geese,  deer,  hares,  and 
wild  boars.  Hot  sausages  were  greatly  liked  and  they  were 
sold  on  the  streets  of  Athens  and  perhaps  in  other  cities. 
Fish  were  abundant,  both  fresh-water  and  salt,  and  oysters, 
eels,  mussels,  and  turtles  were  used  as  food.  Among  the 
vegetables  were  lettuce,  spinach,  cabbage,  peas,  beans,  rad- 
ishes, onions,  garlic,  turnips,  and  asparagus.  The  food  was 
seasoned  with  salt,  mustard,  garlic,  onions,  and  herbs.  Honey 
was  used  as  sugar  with  us  and  olive-oil  and  cheese  took  the 
place  of  butter.  Of  fruits  there  were  figs,  apples,  quinces, 
peaches,  pears,  plums,  cherries,  grapes,  and  of  nuts  there 
were  walnuts,  almonds,  and  chestnuts.  Wine  was  in  great 
use  and,  perhaps,  there  was  no  other  beverage  but  water  as 
milk  was  not  often  drunk  except  in  the  country. 

After  being  weaned,  the  child  at  Athens  was  fed  by  its 
mother  or  nurse  with  milk  and  a  weak  broth,  which  con- 
sisted mostly  of  honey.    The  older  Athenian  child  no  doubt 


The  Child  in  Greece  191 

had  an  abundance  and  a  variety  of  food,  but  such  was  not 
the  case  in  Sparta.  Taken  to  the  public  tables  at  seven  years 
of  age,  the  Spartan  child  was  given  only  very  coarse  food 
and  not  nearly  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this.  He  was  per- 
mitted, however,  to  steal  more  food,  but  if  caught  he  was 
severely  punished. 

Child  and  Parent.  One  of  the  worst  things  that  could 
happen  to  a  Greek  in  the  old  times  was  not  to  have  children, 
and  especially  not  to  have  a  son.  Although  daughters  were 
not  disliked,  yet  it  was  through  the  son  that  the  family  name 
and  the  worship  of  family  gods  and  ancestors  could  be  con- 
tinued after  the  death  of  the  father.  There  was  more,  for 
the  state  considered  childlessness  and  especially  no  sons  in 
a  family  unfortunate,  as  it  was  thought  such  a  condition 
lessened  the  ties  between  citizen  and  state.  So  when  a  boy 
was  born  into  a  family  the  outer  door  was  decorated  with 
an  olive  branch,  while  for  a  girl  a  fillet  of  wool  was  used. 

"The  Grecian  mothers  were  subjected  to  certain  rules 
prior  to  the  birth  of  their  children.  Their  food  and  exer- 
cises were  regulated  either  by  the  laws,  or  by  the  manners 
and  customs.  In  most  of  the  Grecian  states  they  were  re- 
quired to  lead  a  sedentarj^  inactive,  and  tranquil  life.  In 
Sparta,  however,  it  was  directly  the  reverse.  There,  womer. 
while  in  that  condition  were  required  to  be  abroad,  engaged 
in  their  usual  athletic  recreations,  eating  and  drinking  as  at 
any  other  period  of  time."^^ 

Care  of  Children.  The  newly  born  child  was  bathed  in 
water  and  oil  and  then  it  was  put  into  swaddling  clothes, 
a  narrow  woolen  band  wrapped  tightly  round  and  j-ound  the 
child  from  the  neck  to  the  feet.  In  Sparta  the  newly  born 
child  was  bathed  in  water  tempered  with  wine,  as  it  was  con- 
sidered strengthening  to  the  child  and  also  that  such  a  bath 
could  be  endured  only  by  strong  and  healthy  infants.  The 
baby  was  not  placed  in  swaddling  clothes  in  Sparta,  so  that 
it  was  allowed  the  freedom  of  its  limbs  and  body. 

There  were  two  family  festivals  observed  with  the  young 
child.  The  first  was  of  a  religious  nature,  the  ceremony  of 
purification,  and  it  usually  took  place  on  the  fifth  day  after 
birth.  The  child  was  held  in  the  arms  of  the  nurse,  midwife, 
or  some  member  of  the  family,  who  ran  round  a  fire  blazing 
on  the  family  altar,  followed  by  the  members  of  the  house- 
hold.    This  was  done  that  the  child  might  thus  be  placed 

"Dean,  The  history  of  civilization,  II,  183. 


192  The  Historical  Child 

under  the  care  of  the  household  gods.  It  was  ended  with  a 
feast.  The  second  festival  was  that  of  the  name-day,  which 
occurred  on  the  child's  tenth  day  after  birth.  This  was  a 
very  important  event  in  the  life  of  the  child,  as  on  this  oc- 
casion the  infant  was  acknowledged  by  the  father  as  his  own 
and  he  committed  himself  to  its  rearing  and  education.  A 
feast  was  held,  a  special  cake  was  eaten,  a  sacrifice  was  of- 
fered, chiefly  to  the  goddess  of  child-bearing,  and  the  baby 
was  given  a  name.  Presents  were  given  to  the  child,  among 
them  being  charms  or  amulets  and  which  were  hung  around 
its  neck  to  protect  it  against  magical  arts  and  the  evil  eye. 
The  favorite  name  for  the  eldest  son  was  that  of  his  paternal 
grandfather.  Sometimes  the  boy  was  named  for  his  father 
or  there  might  be  a  shortened  form  of  the  grandfather's  or 
father's  name.  He  might  be  named  for  an  intimate  friend 
or  for  some  god  or  for  some  action  or  condition  or  ex- 
perience in  his  father's  life.  Later  in  life  the  boy  might 
receive  a  nickname  that  would  take  the  place  of  his  real 
name. 

In  the  earlier  times  the  mothers  both  of  Athens  and  Sparta 
nursed  their  children,  but  later  this  was  abandoned  and 
nurses  were  procured.  "Wet-nurses  were  employed  for  the 
baby's  first  year  or  a  half  year  longer  and  then  a  regular 
nurse  was  obtained  for  the  child.  In  Sparta  the  nurses  were 
usually  from  the  women  of  the  perioeci,  and  the  other  peo- 
ples of  Greece  preferred  the  Spartan  nurses  because  they  were 
strong  and  healthy  and  also  gave  the  children  a  vigorous  train- 
ing. "When  the  child  grew  to  some  understanding,  the 
nurse  told  stories  out  of  the  great  wealth  of  Greek  mythology 
and  -iEsopian  beast  fables  which  circulated  among  the  Greeks 
from  the  earliest  times;  also  ghost  stories,  chiefly  to  frighten 
and  subdue  the  rebellious:  about  the  horrible  bugaboo  called 
Mormo;  about  Acco,  who  carried  off  bad  children  in  a  huge 
sack;  or  Lamia,  once  a  princess,  who  ate  her  own  and  others' 
children ;  or  Empusa,  a  hobgoblin  that  took  any  shape  it 
pleased.  If  these  stories  failed  to  restrain  the  naughty  child, 
then  the  sandal  was  vigorously  applied.  "^^ 

The  earlier  cradle  was  of  basket-work,  in  the  form  of  a 
flat  swing.  A  later  one  was  shaped  like  a  shoe,  having  han- 
dles at  the  sides  for  carrying  and  suspending.  In  yet  later 
times  appeared   cradles  similar  to  those  of  modern  times. 

"Gulick,  The  life  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  75. 


The  Child  in  Greece  193 

Lullabies  were  sung  over  children  as  now.    One  cradle-song 
has  come  down  to  us  in  this  form: 

"Tenderly  she  touched  their  little  heads  and  sang: 
Sleep,  baby  boys,  a  sweet  and  healthful  sleep; 
Sleep  on,  my  darlings,  safely  through  the  night, 
Sleep,  happy  in  your  baby  dreams,  and  wake 
With  joy  to  greet  the  morning's  dawning  light."" 

Infanticide.  If  in  Sparta  the  child  survived  the  bath  of 
water  and  wine,  then  it  was  subjected  to  an  inspection  by  a 
council  of  the  state  to  decide  whether  it  was  fit  to  live  or 
not.  The  strong  and  robust  children  were  permitted  to  live, 
but  the  weak  and  sickly  and  deformed  children  were  thrown 
down  a  precipice  or  exposed  on  the  mountains.  If  any  of 
the  helots  or  perioeci  should  find  the  child  and  take  it  they 
were  permitted  to  keep  it,  but  the  child  could  never  become 
a  citizen  of  Sparta.  This  custom  of  destroying  or  casting 
out  infants  was  done  in  order  to  insure  strong  citizens  for 
the  state.  No  parent  was  allowed  to  pass  judgment  on  the 
child,  such  was  retained  by  the  state  alone. 

Infanticide  was  practiced  in  Athens,  but  not  by  the  state. 
This  was  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  fathers.  The  fathers 
at  Athens  were  more  cruel  than  the  state  at  Sparta,  for  not 
only  weak  and  deformed  children  were  cast  aside  by  the 
Athenian  fathers,  but  this  might  be  true  of  other  children, 
as  poverty  and  other  causes  might  be  a  motive.  This  was 
done  by  placing  the  infant  in  a  basket  or  earthenware  vessel 
and  leaAung  it  in  a  temple,  or  some  other  public  place,  so 
that  some  one  might  take  it.  This  was  called  "potting"  the 
child.  The  mother  usually  placed  a  token  as  a  trinket  or 
an  amulet  with  the  child  so  that  possibly  afterward  the  child 
might  be  recognized.  The  party  who  might  take  such  a 
child  had  full  power  over  it  and  might  rear  it  as  a  slave 
or  do  with  it  as  he  might  wish.  The  father  was  sometimes 
brutal  enough  to  take  the  baby  to  the  mountains  and  leave 
it  to  die  from  exposure  or  wild  beasts. 

"From  this  barbarous  custom  the  Thebans  formed  an  hon- 
orable exemption.  They  rendered  the  murder  of  infants  a 
capital  offense.  Those  who  were  born  of  parents  unable  to 
provide  for  their  maintenance  were  brought  up  at  the  public 
charge,  but  in  return,  when  grown  up,  the  public  had  a  right 

"Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,  251. 


194  The  Historical  Child 

to  their  services  until  they  were  adequately  compensated  for 
what  had  been  expended  in  bringing  them  up."^* 

Duties  of  Children.  The  boy  at  Greece  was  expected  to 
walk  along  the  street  in  a  quiet  manner  with  head  bent,  as 
a  sign  of  modesty,  and  to  speak  to  no  one.  At  home  he 
was  to  be  careful  of  his  manners  and  habits.  He  was  to  be 
respectful  to  his  elders,  making  way  for  them  on  the  street, 
keeping  silence  in  their  company,  and  when  seated  to  arise 
when  they  entered  the  room  and  to  give  way  to  them.  It 
was  the  duty  of  children  to  be  obedient  and  respectful  to 
their  parents,  and  to  care  for  them  when  there  was  need. 
But  the  parents,  too,  had  their  duty  to  perform  and  if  they 
neglected  the  children  then  the  children  were  excused  from 
maintaining  their  parents. 

Adoption  and  Inheritance.  People  not  having  children  of 
their  own  were  permitted  to  adopt  other  children.  If  a  man 
had  no  son  he  could  adopt  a  young  man  and  have  him  marry 
his  daughter.  Those  adopted  were  accorded  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  any  children.  The  children  of  an  adopted 
son  were  regarded  as  descendants  of  the  adopting  father  and 
they  preserved  the  ancestral  worship  and  paid  homage  at  his 
tomb.  If  after  adopting  a  son  the  man  should  marry  and 
have  a  son  from  this  marriage,  then  the  two  boys  received 
equal  shares  of  the  property  upon  the  death  of  the  father. 
When  there  were  neither  legitimate  nor  adopted  sons,  the 
estate  went  to  the  nearest  relatives.  In  case  of  death  with- 
out heirs,  the  estate  descended  to  the  prince,  the  common- 
wealth, or  the  supreme  magistrate,  as  the  laws  directed.  Some- 
times if  the  children  of  noted  men  were  left  without  prop- 
erty, they  were  provided  for  by  the  state.  Children  could 
be  disinherited,  but  such  had  to  be  done  publicly  before  cer- 
tain judges  appointed  for  that  purpose.  AVhen  a  parent  was 
unable,  through  age  or  infirmity,  to  manage  his  estate  the  son 
could  bring  this  before  magistrates,  who  had  the  power  to 
turn  over  the  property  to  the  son,  who  would  care  for  the 
property  and  the  parent. 

Toys  and  Playthings.  The  children  of  ancient  Greece  had 
quite  a  number  of  toys  and  playthings.  The  infant 's  first  toy 
was  a  rattle,  made  of  metal  or  wood,  having  small  stones  in- 
side. A  little  older  they  had  painted  clay  puppets,  repre- 
senting human  beings  and  such  animals  as  tortoises,  hares, 
ducks,  and  mother  apes  with  their  offspring.     Dolls  were 

"  Dean,  History  of  civilization,  II,  185. 


The  Child  in  Greece  195 

plentiful,  made  of  painted  clay  or  wax,  often  with  movable 
hands  and  feet.  "In  more  than  one  instance  we  have  found 
in  children's  graves  their  favorite  dolls,  which  sorrowing 
parents  laid  with  them  as  a  sort  of  keepsake  in  the  tomb."  ^^ 
The  little  girls  had  houses  for  their  dolls  and  dishes  and 
tables.  The  children  had  ships  and  tops  and  balls  and  hoops 
and  carts  and  swings.  They  also  had  pet  animals.  Some- 
times the  toys  were  bought  and  again  they  were  made  by 
the  children,  for,  through  instinct  and  imitation,  they  were 
much  given  to  modeling  and  making  things  out  of  clay  or 
wax  or  fruit-peel  or  leather.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  a 
passage  from  "The  Clouds"  of  Aristophanes,  wherein  he  has 
a  countryman  describing  the  precocious  abilities  of  his  son: 

"He  is  a  lad  of  parts,  and  from  a  child 
Took  wondrously  to  dabbling  in  the  mud. 
Whereof  he'd  build  you  up  a  house  so  natural 
As  would  amaze  you,  trace  you  out  a  ship, 
Make  you  a  little  cart  out  of  the  sole 
Of  an  old  shoe,  mayhap,  and  from  the  rind 
Of  a  pomegranate  cut  you  out  a  frog. 
You  'd  swear  it  was  alive, ' '  " 

Games  and  Plays.  Just  as  with  children  in  all  ages  and 
in  all  times,  the  children  of  Greece  had  many  plays  and 
games.  The  little  boys  and  girls  were  in  the  homes  together 
till  they  were  seven  years  of  age  and  so  they  played  together, 
but  apart  after  that.  The  boys  of  Athens,  just  as  in  other 
cities  in  older  times  and  present  times,  played  on  the  streets 
and  pestered  the  passers-by  and  kept  the  guardians  of  the 
peace  busy. 

The  little  girls  played  with  their  dolls,  making  houses  for 
them,  setting  out  dishes  before  them,  hauling  them  in  carts, 
and  swinging  them  and  themselves  in  swings.  In  some  of 
their  plays  they  were  joined  by  the  little  boys  and  they  all 
played  in  the  sand  and  made  mud-pies  and  had  see-saws  and 
swings  and  they  hitched  up  one  another  and  dogs  and  goats 
to  carts.  The  children  carried  one  another  pick-a-pack  and 
they  rode  stick-horses  and  hobby-horses  and  they  played  bob- 
cherry  and  hide-the-rope  and  many  other  such  games. 

They  rolled  hoops,  walked  on  stilts,  played  running  and 
catching  games,  such  as  hide-and-seek;  they  played  leap- 
frog, hopped  and  jumped,  flew  kites;  they  played  games  of 

"Mahaffy,  Old  Greek  education,  20. 
"Felton,  Greece,  I,  426. 


196  The  Historical  Child 

forfeit,  odd  or  even,  how  many  fingers  are  held  up ;  the  older 
boys  had  the  tug  of  war  and  tossed  one  another  in  blankets. 
In  one  game  the  boy  had  to  hop  with  one  foot  on  a  skin- 
bottle  filled  with  water  and  greased;  they  spun  coins  on  the 
edges;  they  shot  beans  from  the  fingers  as  the  modern  boys 
do  marbles ;  they  threw  up  five  small  stones  and  caught  them 
on  the  back  of  the  hand,  as  boys  do  jack-stones  now;  they 
played  with  dice. 

There  was  a  game  in  which  a  stone  was  to  be  so  thrown 
into  a  circle  as  to  knock  out  the  stones  thrown  into  it  by  the 
other  boys  and  itself  remain  in  the  circle.  They  would 
sharpen  one  end  of  a  heavy  peg  of  wood  and  then  throw  it 
into  a  softened  place  in  the  earth  so  that  it  would  stand  up- 
right and  also  knock  out  another 's  peg.  They  would  blacken 
or  moisten  one  side  of  an  oyster-shell  and  would  call  one  side 
day  and  the  other  side  night;  then  the  boys  would  divide  into 
two  sides  with  these  names  and  would  take  turns  in  tossing 
the  shell  up  into  the  air  and  then  note  which  side  was  up 
when  it  fell  to  the  ground;  the  winning  side  would  then 
pursue  the  others  and  take  prisoners. 

The  boys,  then  as  now,  found  great  sport  with  tops,  play- 
ing in  the  house  as  well  as  in  the  street.  They  had  different 
kinds  of  tops,  among  them  being  a  humming-top.  The  Greek 
boy  would  tie  a  long  string  to  the  leg  of  a  beetle  and  then 
let  it  loose  and  guide  its  flying  by  holding  to  the  string; 
sometimes  the  boys  would  fix  a  wax  splinter  to  the  beetle's 
tail  and  then  light  it  before  letting  him  loose. 

The  children  played  blind  man's  buff.  They  would  ban- 
dage a  boy's  eyes,  who  would  then  go  about  calling  out, 
"I  am  hunting  a  brazen  fly."  This  would  be  answered  by 
the  others  with,  "You  will  hunt,  but  you  won't  catch  it." 
They  would  then  run  about  and  strike  him  with  whips  till 
he  caught  one,  who  would  then  be  blindfolded. 

The  Greeks  were  very  fond  of  the  ball  and  ball-playing. 
The  balls  were  of  all  sizes  and  colors.  Some  were  stuffed 
with  feathers  and  wool  and  others  were  empty.  They  were 
made  of  leather  and  of  such  a  size  as  was  suited  to  the  kind 
of  game  to  be  played  with  them.  There  was  tossing  and 
throwing  and  juggling  with  balls  and  also  there  were  reg- 
ular games.  Mahaffy  thinks  that  he  has  discovered  from  the 
descriptions  given  that  they  played  games  similar  to  the 
present  foot-ball,  hand-ball,  and  lacrosse.  He  believes  foot- 
ball is  shown  in  this  description:  "The  first  is  played  by 


The  Child  m  Greece  197 

two  even  sides,  who  draw  a  line  in  the  center,  on  which  they 
place  the  ball.  They  draw  two  other  lines  behind  each 
side,  and  those  who  first  reach  the  ball  throw  it  over  the 
opponents,  whose  duty  it  is  to  catch  it  and  return  it,  until 
one  side  drives  the  other  back  over  their  goal  line."  In 
the  following  he  can  see  hand-ball:  "It  consists  of  making 
a  ball  bound  off  the  ground,  and  sending  it  against  a  wall, 
counting  the  number  of  the  hops  according  as  it  was  re- 
turned." From  another  writer  he  finds  lacrosse:  "Certain 
youths,  divided  equally,  leave  in  a  level  place,  which  they 
have  before  prepared  and  measured,  a  ball  made  of  leather, 
about  the  size  of  an  apple,  and  rush  at  it,  as  if  it  were  a 
prize  lying  in  the  middle,  from  their  fixed  starting-point  (a 
goal).  Each  of  them  has  in  his  right  hand  a  racket  of  suit- 
able length  ending  in  a  sort  of  flat  bend,  the  middle  of  which 
is  occupied  by  gut  strings,  dried  by  seasoning,  and  plaited 
together  in  net  fashion.  Each  strives  to  be  the  first  to  bring 
it  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  ground  from  that  allotted  to 
them.  Whenever  the  ball  is  driven  by  the  rackets  to  the  end 
of  the  ground,  it  counts  a  victory."^'' 

Sports  and  Festivals.  Besides  the  games  and  plays  for  the 
younger  people  noted  above,  there  was  plenty  of  amusement 
of  youths  and  adults  in  the  way  of  sports  and  festivals.  The 
gymnasium,  with  its  palfestra,  and  the  festivals  gave  oppor- 
tunity for  exercises  and  displays  of  all  kinds. 

The  most  common  forms  of  gymnastic  exercises  were  run- 
ning, jumping,  throwing  the  discus,  hurling  the  javelin,  and 
wrestling,  and  they  formed  what  was  known  as  the  pentath- 
lon. They  were  engaged  in  at  the  gymnasium  and  at  the 
four  great  national  festivals.  Beside  these  there  were  boxing, 
the  pancration,  which  consisted  of  boxing  and  wrestling,  horse 
racing,  and  chariot  racing. 

The  gymnasium  was  originally  an  athletic  ground  where 
all  kinds  of  sports  were  carried  on  and  it  contained  the  palses- 
tra,  which  was  essentially  a  building  for  the  purposes  of 
wrestling,  although  both  palaestra  and  gymnasium  came  later 
to  stand  for  other  things  beside. 

There  were  four  great  national  festivals,  known  as  the 
Olympian,  the  Pythian,  the  Nemean,  and  the  Isthmian.  In 
these  festivals  contests  in  races  and  athletic  exercises  were 
held  and  also  sometimes  in  music,  poetry,  rhetoric,  and  the 
like.    The  Olympic  festival  was  held  at  Olympia  every  four 

"Mahafify,  Old  Greek  education,  18-19. 


198  The  Historical  Child 

years,  in  the  summer,  and  lasted  for  five  days;  the  Pythian 
festival  was  also  held  every  four  years,  near  Delphi,  in  the 
winter,  in  the  third  year  of  every  Olympiad;  the  Nemean 
festival  was  held  at  Nemea  in  the  second  and  fourth  year  of 
every  Olympiad,  alternating  in  winter  and  in  summer;  and 
the  Isthmian  festival  was  held  at  Corinth,  in  the  first  and 
third  years  of  each  Olympiad,  alternating  between  spring 
and  summer.  These  times  were  thus  arranged  so  that  these 
national  festivals  did  not  conflict  with  one  another. 

The  Olympic  festival  was  the  most  noted.  It  was  so  im- 
portant that  in  case  of  war  a  truce  was  entered  into  among 
the  Grecian  states,  which  lasted  probably  for  three  months 
during  the  year  of  the  festival.  During  this  time  all  people 
journeying  to  and  from  the  festival  were  granted  protection, 
and  no  one  was  allowed  to  carry  arms  within  the  sacred  terri- 
tory. The  official  prize  was  but  a  crown  of  wild  olive,  not 
valuable  in  itself,  but  it  was  perhaps  the  most  coveted  honor 
in  all  Greece.  Only  Greeks  were  eligible  to  compete  and  the 
winner  received  the  highest  honor  from  his  fellow-townspeo- 
ple. Poets  of  high  renown  composed  odes  in  his  honor,  bronze 
statues  were  made  of  him,  he  rode  home  in  a  triumphal 
chariot  and  sometimes  a  part  of  the  wall  of  his  town  was  torn 
down  for  his  entry,  he  was  generally  supported  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  at  public  expense,  and  his  honor  extended 
to  his  parents  and  to  his  children,  and  even  to  the  city  of 
his  birth. 

AVomen  were  not  allowed  to  be  present  at  the  Olympian 
games.  The  only  exception  was  in  permitting  the  priestesses 
of  Demeter  to  be  present,  who  remained  in  a  temple  built  for 
them  near  the  Stadium.  All  other  women  were  excluded  from 
the  territory  for  a  certain  number  of  days.  The  penalty  of 
trespassing  on  the  part  of  a  woman  was  death,  the  trans- 
gressor being  thrown  from  the  Typsean  rock.  "Only  one  in- 
stance is  recorded  of  this  rule  being  broken.  Pherenice,  a 
member  of  the  famous  family  of  the  Diagoridse,  in  her  anxiety 
to  see  her  son  Peisirodus  compete  in  the  boys'  boxing,  ac- 
companied him  to  Olympia  disguised  as  a  trainer.  In  her 
delight  at  his  victory  she  leapt  over  the  barrier  and  so  dis- 
closed her  sex.  The  Hellanodicoe,  however,  pardoned  her  in 
consideration  for  her  father  and  brothers  and  son,  all  of  them 
Olympic  victors,  but  they  passed  a  decree  that  henceforth 
all  trainers  should  appear  naked.  "^^    But  women  were  per- 

"  Gardiner,  Greek  athletic  sports  and  festivals,  47. 


The  Child  in  Greece  199 

mitted  to  enter  their  horses  for  the  chariot-race,  which  they 
did,  and  won  some  races,  too.  The  women  had  their  own 
festival  at  Olympia,  the  Heraa,  occurring  every  four  years, 
at  which  there  were  races  for  maidens  of  various  years,  the 
course  being  one-sixth  less  than  that  for  men. 

Every  Greek  boy  received  a  thorough  physical  training. 
To  keep  up  the  spirit  for  such  training,  local  festivals  were 
held  in  which  was  given  opportunity  for  the  boys'  testing 
their  strength  and  skill.  In  the  37th  Olympiad  were  first 
introduced  contests  for  boys,  the  names  of  the  victors  being 
inscribed  on  the  records  of  the  events  before  the  names  of  the 
adult  victors.  At  first  there  were  only  two  classes  of  com- 
petition, for  boys  and  for  men,  later  a  third  class  being  added, 
for  the  beardless  or  those  between  boys  and  men.  It  would 
appear  as  if  the  ages  for  boys  was  between  twelve  and  six- 
teen and  for  the  beardless  between  sixteen  and  twenty.  The 
length  of  the  race-course  for  boys  was  but  half  that  for  adults 
and  for  the  beardless  it  was  two-thirds  the  full  length.  In 
the  races  at  the  Olympic  Hera?a  the  girls  were  likewise  di- 
vided into  the  three  ages.  In  the  second  century  before 
Christ  was  introduced  the  pancration  for  boys,  which  shows 
that  the  games  were  becoming  more  cruel  and  degraded. 

Other  Amusements.  The  Greeks  of  the  olden  times  were 
much  given  to  entertainments.  These  might  be  at  the  home 
or  on  the  sea-shore  or  in  the  country.  They  might  be  given 
by  an  individual,  or  gotten  up  by  parties,  each  one  contribut- 
ing his  part  or  sharing  in  the  expense.  It  was  not  uncommon 
to  have  excursions  into  the  country  or  to  the  sea-shore,  with 
food  and  drink  packed  and  taken  along  for  the  occasion. 

The  entertainments  in  the  home  were  sometimes  simply 
an  informal  affair,  while  again  they  were  quite  formal.  A 
man  wishing  to  give  an  entertainment  would  go  out  to  the 
market-place  or  the  gymnasium  and  invite  his  friends  or  he 
might  send  the  invitations  by  a  slave.  After  entrance  into 
the  home  and  the  exchange  of  greetings,  the  meal  was  par- 
taken of  and  the  drinking  was  entered  upon.  Toasts  were 
drank  to  one  another  and  to  absent  ones,  the  young  men 
taking  the  occasion  to  drink  to  their  loved  ones  and  to  sing 
love-songs.  Conversation  would  be  entered  upon  and  jokes 
and  puns  made,  professional  jesters  being  quite  often  hired 
for  the  evening.  There  would  be  games  and  conundrums 
and  riddles  and  enigmas.  A  favorite  game  for  such  an  eve- 
ning was  called  kottdbos,  in  which  the  player  would  throw 


200  The  Historical  Child 

the  last  drops  of  wine  in  his  cup  on  to  the  head  of  a  small 
brazen  figure,  which  produced  a  clanging  sound  and  a  bob- 
bing of  the  head;  the  louder  the  clang  and  the  more  violent 
the  bobbing  with  the  smaller  the  amount  of  the  wine  thrown, 
the  greater  the  success  of  the  player.  There  were  dancing- 
girls  and  flute  players  and  jugglers  and  contortionists.  Reci- 
tations of  passages  from  the  poets  were  given  and  there  were 
pantomimic  and  dramatic  scenes  acted.  There  might  have 
been  little  of  the  kind  of  entertaining  as  noted  above  and  the 
evening  spent  in  deep  conversation  upon  the  important  topics 
of  the  day  and  by  the  great  philosophers  and  poets  and  drama- 
tists and  the  other  great  men  gathered  on  the  occasion. 

One  of  the  very  greatest  amusements  of  the  Greeks  was 
that  of  the  theater.  These  were  usually  built  along  a  hill- 
side, the  seats  being  cut  into  the  solid  rock.  The  perform- 
ances were  held  in  connection  with  two  of  the  leading  re- 
ligious festivals,  the  one  in  the  midwinter  and  the  other  in  the 
spring.  The  theaters  were  public  and  open  to  all  the  citizens 
and  free  of  expense,  the  expenses  being  borne  by  the  state  or 
by  wealthy  citizens.  There  were  no  playbills  nor  similar  kind 
of  announcements  of  the  plays,  usually  the  audience  not 
knowing  what  was  to  come  till  the  play  opened. 

Dancing  and  music  were  among  the  pleasures  of  the  young 
people.  Of  these  were  mimetic  dances,  representing  mytho- 
logical scenes.  There  were  also  warlike  and  choral  dances 
performed  at  the  feasts  of  the  gods.  There  were  profes- 
sional dancers  and  singers  and  flute-players  There  were  a 
number  of  kinds  of  musical  instruments.  The  types  of  the 
stringed  instruments  were  represented  by  the  lyre,  the  kith- 
ara,  and  the  harp ;  the  wind-instruments  were  the  pipes,  clar- 
ionets, and  trumpets ;  and  the  clanging  instruments  were  the 
castanets,  cymbal,  and  tambourine. 

The  young  men  indulged  in  horse-racing;  they  frequented 
gambling  places  where  dice  was  used ;  and  they  placed  metal 
spurs  on  cocks,  pheasants,  and  quails  and  fought  them  thus 
armed.  Hunting  was  a  favorite  sport.  It  was  quite  fashion- 
able for  rich  young  men  to  have  fine  horses  and,  although 
they  did  ride  some,  yet  they  preferred  to  drive  their  horses 
to  chariots. 

The  jugglers  and  acrobats  were  quite  skilful  and  they  were 
of  both  sexes.  Outside  the  help  of  present  day  science,  they 
seemed  to  have  performed  as  remarkable  feats  as  at  the  present 


The  Child  in  Greece  201 

time.  They  gave  sword  dances;  they  tossed  hoops  and  balls; 
they  did  rope-vvalking  and  dancing;  they  extracted  things 
from  their  eyes  and  ears  and  noses  and  mouths.  They  would 
stand  on  their  hands  and  head  and  perform  feats  with  their 
toes,  as  filling  vessels  with  water  and  shooting  bows  and  ar- 
rows. In  one  feat  a  woman  acrobat  would  bend  back  her 
head  till  it  met  her  heels,  then  she  would  clasp  her  feet  with 
her  hands  and  roll  off  like  a  hoop.  In  one  exhibit  there  was 
a  contrivance,  known  as  the  potter 's  wheel,  in  which  a  young 
woman  would  be  whirled  round  rapidly  and  yet  she  managed 
to  read  and  write  while  being  so  twirled. 

Sickness  and  Death.  In  the  earlier  times  of  Greece  old 
age  was  highly  respected  in  all  the  states.  In  Sparta  and 
Thebes  this  respect  was  maintained,  but  among  the  smart  set 
in  Athens  this  was  not  the  case.  In  the  more  remote  and 
primitive  districts  the  aged  enjoyed  the  reverence  and  af- 
fection of  the  young  and  middle-aged  alike.  They  were 
treated  with  great  respect  in  both  public  and  private  and 
their  opinions  were  sought  for  in  affairs  of  state  and  of  the 
home.  Yet  in  all  Greece  there  was  a  desire  for  children  so 
that  parents  might  be  protected  and  comforted  in  advancing 
age,  and  those  without  children  were  often  in  a  pitiable  con- 
dition in  extreme  old  age.  At  the  age  of  sixty  a  man  was 
recognized  to  be  at  least  physically  old,  as  he  was  then  exempt 
from  military  duty. 

Although  the  Greeks  enjoyed  an  exceptionally  fine  climate 
and  gave  especial  care  to  the  body,  yet  they  were  subject 
to  diseases  as  other  people.  Their  houses  were  not  in  sanitary 
conditions,  the  streets  were  not  in  proper  order,  and  the  water 
was  not  always  pure.  There  were  physicians  who  had  quite 
good  skill  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  and  both  medicine  and 
surgery  were  in  a  fair  condition,  although  superstition  and 
folk-lore  too  often  ruled.  Athens  and  other  cities  employed 
physicians  at  public  cost  to  care  for  the  poor  free  of  charge. 

IBurial  of  the  dead  was  a  very  important  function  and  one 
demanded  by  both  custom  and  religion.  Without  this  final 
honor,  it  was  thought  the  spirit  would  wander  restlessly  on 
forever.  So  when  a  man  died  his  family  was  bound  to  give 
him  proper  burial.  This  was  considered  so  important  that 
when  a  man  died  in  a  foreign  land  his  body  was  brought  home, 
or,  if  that  was  impossible,  then  a  tomb  was  erected  to  him 
and  the  burial  rites  enacted.     It  was  even  considered  dis- 


202  The  Historical  Child 

graceful  not  to  let  enemies  in  war  bury  their  dead  and  after 
battles  a  truce  was  entered  upon  that  the  dead  might  be 
buried. 

When  dead  the  body  was  washed  and  anointed  and  clothed 
in  white  and  placed  on  a  couch.  A  wreath  was  placed  on  the 
head  and  garlands  about  the  body,  which  were  given  by 
friends.  On  the  floor  about  the  couch  were  set  pitchers  that 
were  to  be  put  into  the  grave  or  on  the  funeral  pile.  The 
burial  took  place  early  in  the  morning,  at  Athens,  at  least,  be- 
fore sunrise.  In  the  earlier  times  the  dead  were  buried  in  the 
houses,  but  later  they  were  placed  outside  the  cities,  usually 
along  a  road,  but  in  Sparta  they  were  kept  in  the  city,  while  in 
the  country  they  were  buried  in  the  fields.  The  bodies  either 
were  buried  or  cremated,  but  as  the  latter  was  quite  expen- 
sive it  was  used  usually  by  the  wealthy  only. 

In  the  funeral  procession  the  body  was  carried  in  a  vehicle 
or  on  the  shoulders  of  friends  or  slaves.  The  male  mourners 
marched  in  front  of  the  corpse  and  the  female  mourners  be- 
hind it,  all  dressed  in  black  with  the  hair  cut  short.  In  the 
Homeric  times  there  were  violent  outbursts  of  grief  and  abuse 
of  person  by  the  mourners,  but  in  later  times  laws  were 
passed  to  prevent  such.  At  the  grave  if  the  body  was  to  be 
burnt  it  was  placed  upon  the  pile  and  precious  ointments  and 
perfumes  were  poured  over  it  while  burning  and  the  ashes 
were  collected  and  placed  in  an  urn.  If  it  was  to  be  interred, 
the  body  was  placed  in  a  wooden,  earthenware,  or  metallic 
coffin  and  put  into  the  grave,  which  was  usually  in  the  rock. 
The  mourners  then  returned  to  the  house  and  partook  of  the 
funeral  meal.  On  the  third  and  tenth  days  sacrifices  were 
offered  at  the  tomb  and  again  on  the  thirtieth  day,  which 
concluded  the  mourning  period.  The  graves  were  well  cared 
for  and  decorated  with  flowers  and  plants.  "To  neglect  the 
tomb  of  your  ancestors  was  so  far  a  crime  that  no  man  could 
become  a  chief  officer  of  the  state  who  could  be  proved  to 
have  failed  in  this  respect."  ^^ 

Religion.  "An  Athenian  child  begins  by  listening  to  the 
'old  wives'  tales'  of  his  nurse;  then  is  present  at  domestic 
rites  and  sacrifices,  which  impress  him  without  his  under- 
standing them ;  afterwards  learns  his  old-fashioned  Homer 
and  his  poets,  before  he  has  any  notion  of  questioning  their 
theology ;  next  moves  about  among  altars  and  splendid  tem- 
ples and  statues  of  Zeus,  Athena,  Dionysus,  and  many  an- 

"  Tucker,  Life  in  ancient  Athens,  273. 


The  Child  in  Greece  203 

other  divinity;  is  later  on  initiated  into  awesome  mysteries, 
which  are  addressed  to  his  emotions  and  not  to  his  reason ; 
and  is  at  all  times  trained  to  undertake  no  enterprise,  public 
or  private,  without  first  consulting  the  will  of  the  gods,  pray- 
ing to  them,  and  sacrificing  to  them."^° 

The  child  was  introduced  into  the  religious  life  in  the 
home,  as  each  house  had  its  own  altar  and  its  special  house- 
hold deities,  to  whom  prayers  were  offered  and  sacrifices  made, 
and  on  occasions  of  marriage,  birth,  death,  and  the  like,  spe- 
cial ceremonies  occurred.  He  learned  about  both  the  good 
and  the  bad,  as  amulets  were  hung  about  his  neck  to  ward 
off  harm  and  he  saw  sacrifices  made  to  appease  the  wrath  of 
the  evil  ones.  In  public  there  were  sacrifices  and  celebra- 
tions to  the  gods,  in  some  of  which  the  child  took  part. 

Old  Greek  religion  was  a  worship  of  the  beautiful — the 
ideal  in  nature  and  human  life,  and  the  gods  were  ideal  ex- 
pressions of  human  thought,  portraying  the  divine  in  man. 
Keligion  influenced  the  old  Greek  in  ever^'  way  and  on  every 
side  he  was  reminded  of  the  gods  by  temples,  altars,  statues, 
sacred  trees,  etc.  But  with  all  his  religion,  strange  to  say, 
the  Greek  did  not  connect  it  closely  with  his  moral  life,  for 
his  religion  was  expressed  in  his  attitude  toward  the  gods, 
while  his  morality  was  determined  by  the  laws  of  the  land 
and  the  customs  of  society.  This  is  well  shown  in  his  prayers, 
for  these  were  not  offered  for  inward  betterment,  but  for 
some  definite  outward  help. 

Education.  In  the  early  times  of  Greece  there  were  no 
real  schools,  the  young  receiving  their  training  from  the  life 
of  the  family  and  the  community.  As  this  came  through  con- 
tact with  living  persons  and  not  through  dead  precepts  in 
sacred  books,  which  demanded  strict  obedience  and  follow- 
ing, there  was  opportunity  for  growth  so  that  progress  might 
be  made  by  the  individual  away  from  fixed  and  stereotyped 
ways  of  doing  things.  The  purpose  of  the  training  of  those 
times  was  to  help  the  boy  to  become  a  man  who  would  be 
wise  and  eloquent  in  council  and  strong  and  courageous  in 
battle. 

Sparta  represented  a  phase  of  education  in  Greece.  Sur- 
rounded as  it  was  by  people  who  were  hostile  to  its  ways  and 
customs,  it  was  necessary  that  the  young  should  be  trained 
to  be  patriotic  to  the  state  and  skilled  in  war.  To  this  end 
education  began  before  birth,  for  means  were  used  for  having 

**  Tucker,  Life  in  ancient  Athens,  206, 


204  The  Historical  Child 

strong  children  born  and  those  not  strong  at  birth  were  cast 
aside  from  the  state.  If  the  child  at  birth  was  decided  by 
the  council  to  be  fit  to  grow  up  to  be  a  Spartan,  then  he  was 
given  to  his  mother  and  remained  with  her  till  his  seventh 
year,  when  he  was  taken  from  her  and  put  under  the  care 
and  training  of  state  officials. 

When  at  seven  years  of  age  the  boy  was  taken  over  by 
the  state,  he  was  placed  in  the  care  of  an  officer  called  the 
paedonomus.  This  officer  had  supreme  power  over  all  the 
boys  and  youth  and  superintended  their  moral  training  an^ 
gymnastic  exercises  and  their  punishments,  having  men  to 
assist  in  the  work. 

All  the  education  was  at  public  cost  and  all  the  young 
were  placed  in  public  buildings,  eating  and  sleeping  in  com- 
mon, all  being  placed  together  in  common,  even  the  younger 
members  of  the  royal  family,  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne 
being  alone  exempt.  Here  they  were  divided  into  three  com- 
panies according  to  age — from  the  seventh  to  the  twelfth 
year,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  fifteenth,  from  the  fifteenth  to 
the  eighteenth.  The  elder  and  stronger  boys  were  placed 
over  them  a^  captains  and  had  them  in  charge. 

When  the  boy  first  entered  with  the  others  his  hair  was 
cut  short.  The  life  was  one  of  continued  severe  discipline 
and  hardship.  In  summer  and  winter  they  went  without 
shoes  and  with  but  little  clothing,  after  the  twelfth  year 
with  only  one  garment.  They  slept  on  pallets  of  straw  with- 
out covering  and  after  fifteen  their  beds  consisted  of  rushes 
collected  by  themselves  without  the  use  of  a  knife.  They  were 
given  but  little  food.  They  had  permission  to  steal  other 
food,  but  if  caught  stealing  they  were  considered  disgraced 
and  received  a  severe  flogging. 

The  training  of  the  boys  consisted  in  gj^mnastic  exercises, 
being  carefully  organized  and  graded.  The  younger  boys 
were  drilled  in  running  and  leaping  and  ball-playing.  The 
older  boys  engaged  in  wrestling,  boxing,  throwing  the  discus, 
and  hurling  the  javelin.  Sometimes  the  pancratium  was  used, 
consisting  of  boxing  and  wrestling  and  also  most  anything  to 
win,  as  biting,  kicking,  scratching,  gouging.  The  contest- 
ants generally  were  naked.  Dancing  supplemented  the  gym- 
nastics, which  for  the  most  part  were  war-dances  and  also 
some  choral  dancing  was  given  to  be  used  in  religious  festi- 
vals.    This  was  all  done  to  prepare  the  young  for  warfare. 

When  a  boy  reached  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  then  left 


The  Child  in  Greece  205 

the  buildings  for  boys  and  entered  upon  a  more  distinctive 
study  of  warfare.  He  was  permitted  to  let  his  hair  and 
beard  grow  and  was  known  as  a  melleiren,  "budding  youth." 
These  youths  were  drilled  in  the  use  of  arms  and  in  skirmish- 
ing. They  were  given  frequent  strict  examinations.  To  test 
their  courage  and  endurance,  there  was  a  custom  of  each 
year  of  whipping  a  certain  number  of  youth.  They  were 
placed  at  the  altar  of  Artemis  Orthia  and  so  severely  whipped 
as  to  cause  the  blood  to  stream  from  them,  their  fathers  and 
mothers  standing  by  and  urging  them  to  endure  it  without 
flinching  or  murmuring.  Sometimes  they  endured  till  they 
died  under  the  severity  of  the  whipping.  Also  there  was 
another  test  in  the  way  of  a  battle  of  the  melleirenes,  held 
each  year  on  a  small  island  near  Sparta.  These  youths  were 
divided  into  two  companies,  sacrifices  to  the  gods  were  made, 
they  were  lined  up  against  one  another,  and  then  commanded 
to  fight.  They  fought  without  weapons,  but  fists  and  teeth 
and  body  and  limbs  were  most  fiercely  used,  and  many  were 
the  wounds  received. 

At  twenty  years  of  age,  the  budding  youth  became  known 
as  an  eiren,  ' '  a  youth. ' '  These  remained  youths  for  the  next 
ten  years  and  they  lived  in  barracks  to  themselves.  They 
took  a  public  oath  of  loyalty  to  Sparta  and  entered  the  army, 
thus  going  into  real  military  life.  They  entered  upon  the 
life  of  a  soldier,  lived  upon  the  coarsest  fare,  were  drilled 
in  the  usages  of  warfare,  and  were  sent  out  to  guard  and 
care  for  some  armed  camps  or  fortresses  on  the  border.  Each 
year  there  were  festivals  in  which  was  displayed  by  all  the 
youth  their  skill  in  military  drill  and  gymnastic  exercises 
and  in  music  and  dancing,  such  exhibits  being  before  the 
king  and  the  officers  and  the  public. 

At  thirty  years  of  age,  the  Spartan  was  recognized  as 
being  a  full-grown  man  and  became  a  member  of  the  public 
assembly  and  was  required  to  marry.  But  even  then  he  had 
to  remain  with  the  youths  and  boys  and  eat  at  the  common 
table  with  them,  so  that  he  had  no  home  and  had  to  visit  his 
wife  secretly  in  her  home.  He  also  continued  in  military 
service.  It  was  the  custom  for  each  man  to  select  a  boy  or 
a  youth  as  a  companion  and  to  look  after  his  care  and  train- 
ing. These  men  were  expected  to  be  examples  to  the  boys 
and  youths  and  to  correct  them  in  their  faults,  the  men 
being  punished  upon  failure  to  do  these  things. 

The  girls  of  Sparta  received  a  public  training  similar  to 


206  The  Historical  Child 

that  of  the  boys.  It  was  the  aim  to  train  them  so  as  to  be- 
come strong,  healthy  women,  such  as  could  bear  robust  sons 
to  the  state.  They  were  given  g^yonnastic  exercises  such  as 
were  given  to  the  boys,  but  not  in  company  with  the  boys, 
and  also  the  girls  were  permitted  to  remain  at  home.  They 
were  exercised  in  running,  wrestling,  leaping,  throwing  the 
discus,  hurling  the  javelin,  and  in  dancing  and  music.  On 
some  occasions  the  young  men  and  young  women  danced  and 
sang  together  in  public  in  festivals  to  the  gods.  This  train- 
ing did  produce  strong  women  and  who  were  as  patriotic  as 
the  men  and  who  as  mothers  could  give  thanks  to  the  gods  in 
the  temples  when  they  learned  that  husbands  and  sons  had 
died  fighting  for  their  country. 

It  may  be  seen  that  Spartan  education  was  public  and  free 
and  open  equally  to  all  free-born  children.  The  Spartan 
youth  received  very  little  intellectual  training.  No  doubt 
some  acquired  reading  and  writing,  as  such  was  not  forbid- 
den, although  not  encouraged.  They  obtained  ethical  and 
intellectual  training  from  listening  to  their  elders  at  meals 
and  on  the  street.  They  gained  from  criticism  of  their  con- 
duct, which  criticism  was  severe  at  all  times.  Thus  they 
learned  reverence  for  elders,  honesty,  and  self-respect.  All 
the  sufferings  and  hardships  placed  upon  the  youth  were  that 
they  might  receive  training  to  make  them  good  soldiers  to  go 
out  to  battle  for  their  native  land.  Although  Spartan  edu- 
cation did  produce  warriors  and  patriots,  yet  it  did  not  bring 
out  individuality,  that  which  makes  most  for  true  progress 
and  right  living,  "The  state  regulated  the  individual  life, 
and,  by  so  doing,  crushed  out  individuality,  personal  initia- 
tion, literary  and  scientific  activity,  and  ethical  freedom."  ^^ 

Athens  represented  another  phase  in  Greek  education.  A 
new  conception  of  human  life  developed  here  and  hence  there 
came  forth  new  ideas  in  regard  to  the  meaning  and  end  of 
education.  The  idea  of  the  significance  of  the  individual 
took  prominence  and,  although  interests  centered  upon  the 
state,  yet  the  state  was  considered  as  being  composed  of  in- 
dividuals, each  of  whose  free  development  made  the  volun- 
tary giving  of  his  life  to  the  state  all  the  stronger  and  bet- 
ter state.  The  citizens  of  Athens  were  educated  for  peace 
as  well  as  for  war,  so  that  the  aim  of  education  was  to  pro- 
duce all-round  men  who  by  being  trained  to  be  individuals 
would  thus  make  the  best  citizens. 

"Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,  248. 


The  Child  m  Greece  207 

At  birth  the  child  at  Athens  was  judged  by  the  father 
and  upon  his  decision  it  remained  in  the  family  or  it  was 
taken  from  the  mother  and  exposed.  If  it  was  returned  to 
the  mother,  whether  a  boy  or  a  girl,  it  remained  in  the 
home  till  marriage,  when  the  man  or  woman  went  to  his  or 
her  own  home.  For  the  first  seven  years  of  the  child's  life, 
both  boy  and  girl,  he  was  under  the  care  and  training  of  the 
mother  and  the  other  women  of  the  household.  The  Athenian 
boy  was  well  cared  for  and  given  plenty  to  eat  and  to  wear 
and  toys  and  playthings,  so  that  at  least  the  early  years  of 
his  life  were  easy  and  pleasant.  By  hearing  the  nursery- 
rhymes  and  the  stories  from  folk-lore,  and  by  having  re- 
lated to  hun  the  doings  of  the  gods  and  god-like  men  as 
given  in  the  writings  of  the  times,  his  emotional  nature  was 
stimulated  and  he  became  imbued  with  the  poetic  feeling 
and  dramatic  spirit  which  invaded  Athens  and  with  which 
later  he  was  to  come  in  close  contact  through  his  school 
training  and  in  his  social  and  political  life. 

When  the  boy  became  seven  years  of  age,  he  was  sent  to 
school.  He  was  then  placed  under  the  charge  of  a  male 
slave,  known  as  a  pedagogue,  whose  duty  it  was  to  go  back 
and  forth  to  school  with  the  boy  and  carry  his  things  and 
to  have  care  of  the  boy's  manners  and  morals,  having  the 
power  of  discipline,  but  he  did  not  impart  instruction,  that 
being  given  by  the  grammatist  (elementary  teacher)  and  the 
pedotribe  (gymnastic  teacher).  The  state  did  not  provide 
elementary  schools,  although  they  were  under  its  supervision. 
The  schools  were  not  only  private,  but  the  father  had  the 
right  to  decide  what  work  should  be  given  to  his  boy,  and 
yet  the  law  did  prescribe  instruction  in  gymnastics  and 
music.  If  the  father  did  not  give  due  education  to  his  sons, 
in  his  old  age  he  could  not  claim  support  from  them.  The 
length  of  stay  in  the  school  and  the  amount  of  education 
obtained  depended  upon  the  will  and  condition  of  the  father, 
but  all  the  boys  did  receive  elementary  instruction  in  read- 
ing, writing,  and  arithmetic.  The  physical  training  con- 
sisted in  ball-playing,  running,  leaping,  throwing  the  discus, 
hurling  the  javelin,  and  wrestling,  the  course  being  gTaded 
to  the  age  and  size  of  the  boys.  They  were  also  taught 
dancing  and  music.  Their  education  was  to  train  the  boy  to 
be  able  to  use  his  body  with  ease  and  grace  and  to  increase 
his  intelligence  rather  than  to  train  him  solely  to  become  a 
soldier. 


208  The  Historical  Child 

At  fifteen  years  of  age  the  boy  passed  out  of  the  ele- 
mentary training  and  from  the  control  of  the  pedagogue,  and 
if  of  the  higher  classes  he  entered  upon  higher  training. 
He  now  left  the  private  school  and  entered  the  public  school, 
the  gymnasium,  which  was  not  more  than  an  exercising 
ground  located  in  a  grove  just  outside  Athens.  At  this  time 
the  youth  was  given  much  more  liberty  than  when  a  boy,  as 
now  he  was  allowed  to  go  wherever  he  wished,  that  he  might 
become  acquainted  with  what  was  going  on  in  the  city  to  pre- 
pare him  for  the  duties  of  public  life.  He  was  still  under 
the  care  of  his  father  or  guardian  and  through  him  he 
had  opportunity  for  meeting  men  and  hearing  the  conver- 
sations and  discussions  and  thus  learn  of  the  political  life 
of  the  state  and  the  moral  obligations  of  a  citizen.  At  this 
time  the  youth  began  to  learn  to  play  a  musical  instrument 
and  he  read  and  recited  poetry  and  studied  drawing  and 
geometry  and  grammar.  The  gymnastic  training  received 
much  more  attention  at  this  period  than  the  literary,  as 
beauty  of  person  and  health  was  the  great  aim.  The  exer- 
cises were  about  the  same  as  in  the  previous  period  but  of 
a  more  strenuous  nature.  Boxing  was  introduced  now  and 
sometimes  the  pancratium  was  used.  Hunting  and  swim- 
ming became  a  part  of  the  life  of  the  youth. 

At  eighteen  the  young  man  completed  the  second  period 
of  public  training  and  became  known  as  an  ephehus,  "youth." 
His  father  or  guardian  presented  him  for  citizenship,  and 
if  he  showed  proper  credentials  of  legitimate  birth,  of.  Athe- 
nian parentage,  up  to  standard  in  body,  mind,  and  morals, 
he  was  registered.  He  also  took  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the 
state.  He  then  entered  into  military  service  and  continued 
for  two  years.  He  was  thoroughly  drilled  and  then  sent  to 
the  frontier.  At  the  close  of  this  second  year,  when  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age,  he  was  called  to  Athens  and  examined 
for  citizenship,  and  if  he  made  a  proper  showing  he  was 
then  made  a  full  citizen,  with  all  the  privileges  and  duties 
pertaining  to  that  office. 

The  pedagogue  was  not  held  in  high  esteem,  as  he  was 
usually  a  slave  that  was  unable  to  work,  being  too  old  or 
crippled.  The  elementary  teacher,  too,  did  not  take  a  high 
position,  as  there  were  no  special  qualifications,  so  that  any 
one  could  fill  the  position  and  usually  only  those  entered 
into  this  work  who  were  unfitted  or  unprepared  for  other  oc- 
cupations, and  too  often  as  the  last  resort.    The  elementary 


The  Child  in  Greece  209 

schools  were  sometimes  carried  on  in  a  portico  or  the  shel- 
tered corner  of  a  street,  but  again  there  were  good  buildings 
and  well-equipped  for  the  times.  The  furniture  of  these 
buildings  usually  consisted  of  stools  for  the  children  and  a 
seat  with  a  back  for  the  teacher.  The  Athenian  boy  left 
home  at  daybreak  for  school  and  he  did  not  get  back  home 
till  sunset,  but  this  was  somewhat  offset  by  the  frequent 
closing  of  the  school  for  holidays  and  festivals.  The  dis- 
cipline was  quite  severe,  the  stick  and  the  strap  being  much 
in  evidence,  and  yet  the  teachers  of  ancient  Greece  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  more  cruel  than  those  of  Europe  and  of 
the  earlier  days  in  America. 

In  reading,  the  child  was  first  taught  his  letters  and  their 
sounds,  next  came  the  learning  of  syllables,  and  this  was 
followed  by  the  learning  of  words,  and  the  learning  of  the 
sentence  came  at  the  last.  After  he  had  learned  to  read,  the 
boy  was  given  Homer  and  other  Greek  writers.  The  teacher 
would  recite  the  selection  and  the  pupil  would  then  repeat 
it.  The  poems  were  carefully  explained  to  the  children  and 
questions  asked  them  after  such  explanation. 

Paper  made  from  the  bark  of  the  papyrus-plant  and  parch- 
ment were  used  for  writing  on.  To  write  on  the  paper  and 
parchment  reeds,  split  and  pointed-like  pens  were  used. 
Both  black  and  red  ink  were  used  in  the  writing.  Such  were 
not  used  by  the  school-boy,  as  he  had  wax  tablets,  which 
were  made  by  covering  a  small,  thin  board  with  a  layer  of 
wax.  The  boy  used  an  ivory  or  metal  pencil  for  writing 
on  the  tablet.  One  end  of  the  pencil  was  made  pointed  for 
this  purpose  and  the  other  end  was  fl!attened  so  that  the 
pupil  could  smooth  over  the  wax  when  the  tablet  was  to  be 
used  again.  The  teacher  would  write  letters  and  words, 
which  the  boys  copied.  At  times  he  would  guide  the  hand 
of  a  beginner.  Also  sometimes  the  copies  were  made  deep 
in  the  wax  and  the  children  would  trace  them. 

There  was  no  such  thing  as  school  education  of  girls  and 
young  women  in  Athens,  no  public  training  whatever.  The 
Athenians  held  that  woman's  place  was  in  the  home  and  that 
she  should  not  take  part  in  public  life.  Hence,  according  to 
their  ideas,  the  girl  needed  no  education  beyond  what  would 
be  required  for  the  life  within  doors,  such  as  would  fit  her 
to  perform  what  they  considered  the  simple  duties  that  would 
come  to  her  as  wife  and  mother.  The  education  of  the  girl, 
therefore,  fell  solely  to  the  mother,  aided  by  the  other  women 


210  The  Historical  Child 

of  the  household.  The  girl  was  taught  to  sew,  spin,  knit, 
weave,  etc.,  and  sometimes  she  learned  to  read  and  to  write 
and  to  play  on  the  lyre  and  sing.  It  is  true  there  w^ere 
women  at  Athens  who  were  educated,  and  some  of  them  were 
most  highly  learned,  but  they  were  not  citizens  of  Athens, 
being  foreigners  and  known  as  the  hetairai.  These  women 
were  discussed  in  a  previous  section  of  this  chapter,  so  there 
is  no  need  of  further  statements  here. 

Education  in  Sparta  and  in  Athens  comprehended  in  a 
general  way  much  the  same,  as  gymnastic  and  music  were 
the  two  basic  elements.  The  g;sannastic  education  consisted 
not  only  in  the  exercising  of  the  muscles,  but  also  in  the 
training  for  endurance  to  fit  the  young  men  for  the  fatiguing 
duties  of  the  life  of  a  soldier.  Also  music  was  broadened  to 
include  literary  and  moral  training  as  well  as  music  in  its 
narrower  sense.  If  the  Spartan  education  did  crush  out 
much  of  individuality  with  the  men,  yet  it  did  allow  ad- 
vantages to  its  women  as  no  other  education,  in  that  the 
public  training  of  the  girls  and  the  taking  part  in  public 
affairs  by  the  women  gave  to  them  great  opportunities  for 
growth.  If  the  Athenian  education  did  allow  individual 
expression  to  the  men,  yet  in  confining  the  women  to  the 
narrow  place  of  the  home  at  Athens  and  in  not  allowing 
them  to  have  any  part  in  public  education  and  public  life, 
it  narrowed  the  life  of  the  woman  in  Athens  more  than  was 
narrowed  the  life  of  the  man  in  Sparta.  There  are  things 
to  praise  and  things  to  condemn  in  the  education  of  Athens 
as  well  as  that  of  Sparta. 


LITERATUEE 

1.  Anderson,  Lewis  F.,  History  of  common  school  educa- 
tion. 

2.  Davidson,  Thomas,  The  education  of  the  Greek  people. 

3.  Davis,  William  Stearns,  A  day  in  old  Athens. 

4.  Dean,  Amos,  The  history  of  civilization. 

5.  Donaldson,  James,  AVoman,  Her  position  and  influence 
in  ancient  Rome  and  Greece,  and  among  the  early  Christians. 

6.  Duncker,  Max,  History  of  Greece. 

7.  Felton,  C.  C,  Greece,  ancient  and  modern. 

8.  Gamble,  Eliza  Burt,  The  evolution  of  woman. 


The  Child  in  Greece  211 

9.     Gardner,  E.  Norman,  Greek  athletic  sports  and  festi- 
vals. 

10.  Gardner,  Ernest  Athur,  Ancient  Athens. 

11.  Graves,  Frank  Pierrepont,  A.  history  of  education,  Be- 
fore the  middle  ages. 

12.  Guhl,  E.,  and  Koner,  W.,    The  life  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans. 

13.  Gulick,     Charles    Burton,   The    life    of     the    ancient 
Greeks, 

14.  Laurie,  S.  S.,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  edu- 
cation. 

15.  Letoumeau,  Ch.,  The  evolution  of  marriage. 

16.  Mahaffy,  J.  P.,  Old  Greek  education. 

17.  Mahaffy,  J.  P.,  Social  life  in  Greece. 

18.  Tucker,  T.  G.,  Life  in  ancient  Athens. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    CHILD    IN    ROME 

Characteristics.  It  is  one  of  the  world  problems  to  deter- 
mine just  the  cause  for  the  origin  and  building  up  of  a  great 
city  from  which  arose  a  great  nation  as  Rome.  This  is  one 
of  the  great  puzzling  questions  that  seems  can  never  be  cor- 
rectly answered.  But  whatever  the  cause  of  the  origin  of 
the  Romans,  there  is  no  question  about  their  accomplish- 
ments. From  a  few  mud  huts  on  the  bank  of  the  Tiber  river 
filled  with  savage  or  semi-civilized  people  there  grew  up  one 
of  the  very  greatest  ruling  forces  the  world  has  ever  known, 
conquering  the  known  world  and  controlling  all  from  the 
center  at  Rome  with  power  and  wisdom  that  seem  miraculous. 
The  Romans  possessed  intense  pesonality  and  keen  power  of 
organization  and  control.  They  believed  in  the  state  and  that 
each  individual  owed  it  a  duty,  and  yet  they  conceived  that 
the  state  existed  for  the  individual  and  needed  each  one  as 
well  as  the  individual  needed  the  state.  This  view  of  the 
state  and  the  individual  enabled  the  Romans  to  base  the  state 
on  law  and  to  respect  law  when  once  established.  Through 
this  view  they  became  lovers  of  law  and  order.  They  were 
essentially  practical  and  from  their  attacking  the  problems 
of  the  world  in  a  business  and  thoughtful  way  they  became 
strong  in  administrative  ability  and  through  which  they 
evolved  a  sound  jurisprudence,  which  was  bequeathed  to  hu- 
manity. The  old  Romans  were  men  of  both  moral  and  physi- 
cal vigor  and  of  strong  thought ;  they  were  utilitarian,  proud, 
overbearing,  selfish,  cruel,  and  rapacious;  with  strong  self- 
will  they  met  humanity  and  nature  and  conquered  both,  which 
is  shown  on  nature  by  remains  of  roads,  bridges,  aqueducts, 
and  other  structures,  while  their  language  yet  dominates  a 
large  part  of  the  world  and  their  laws  a  yet  still  larger 
portion. 

"Rome  was  one  continual  city  of  noise  and  bustle.  Horace 
had  complained  of  the  turmoil  going  on  night  and  day,  the 
scurry  and  crowding  of  the  streets  from  whose  'torrents  and 

212 


The  Child  in  Rome  213 

tempests'  lie  hastened  to  escape  into  the  chaste  solitude  of 
the  Sabine  hills.  But  during  the  first  century  population 
and  activity  increased  apace,  reaching  its  zenith,  perhaps,  in 
the  days  of  Martial  and  Juvenal.  Before  daybreak  the  bakers 
would  be  hawking  their  loaves,  and  the  shepherds,  coming  into 
the  town  from  the  surrounding  districts,  their  milk:  then 
the  infant  schools  would  begin  intoning  the  alphabet,  and 
with  hammer  and  saw  the  rasping  workshops  were  set  going. 
Creaking  wagons  would  haul  huge  blocks  of  stone  and  trunks 
of  trees,  with  the  weight  of  which  the  ground  would  quake, 
heavily  laden  beasts  of  burden  jostled  the  foot-passenger; 
on  all  sides  jolting  and  knocks  and  trampling,  a  fine  con- 
fusion in  which  pickpockets  reap  their  advantage.  Here, 
says  Martial  (100  a.  d.),  the  money-changer  clatters  Nero's 
bad  coin  down  on  his  dirty  table,  and  there  a  workman  is 
hammering  Spanish  gold  on  an  anvil.  A  procession  of  raving 
priests  of  Bellona  is  shrieking  uninterruptedly;  a  ship- 
wrecked sailor,  with  a  fragment  of  the  wreck  wrapped  up 
in  his  hand,  is  begging  alms;  a  Jewish  lad,  sent  out  by  his 
mother  to  beg ;  the  call  of  a  blear-eyed  pedler  from  the  other 
side  of  the  Tiber,  offering  sulphur  matches  for  broken  glass. 
Jugglers,  some  with  trained  animals  (Juvenal  speaks  of  a 
monkey  riding  a  goat  and  swinging  a  spear),  Marsian  snake- 
eaters  and  snake-charmers  are  calling  for  spectators  for  their 
craft.  Peddlers,  peddling  old  clothes,  linen  and  what-not,  car- 
riers of  pea-flour  and  smoking  sausages,  butchers  with  a 
reeking  quarter  of  beef,  and  the  foot,  the  guts  and  the  blood- 
red  lung, — each,  to  his  own  screeching  tune,  proclaiming  his 
own  wares. ' '  ^ 

The  People.  In  early  Rome  the  population  was  divided 
into  three  classes,  as  in  Greece,  which  comprised  citizens  with 
full  rights  and  privileges,  aliens  with  no  rights  of  their 
own,  and  slaves  who  were  regarded  as  mere  property.  But 
Rome,  unlike  Greece,  did  not  remain  a  small  territory,  but 
extended  its  realm  to  include  the  parts  of  Italy  about  it  and 
then  all  Italy  and  then  the  land  about  the  Mediterranean, 
and  then  expanded  to  other  parts  of  the  earth,  making  a  vast 
territory.  Roman  citizenship  was  gradually  extended  till  it 
reached  out  into  this  territory.  So  the  original  three  divi- 
sions did  not  continue  to  be  maintained  closely  but  there 
grew  up  three  other  divisions  of  the  people.  These  were  the 
patricians,  the  equites,  and  the  plebeians,  all  of  whom  were 

*  Friedlander,  Roman  life  and  manners  under  the  early  empire,  I,  19. 


214  The  Historical  Child 

of  the  free  population,  enjoying  the  citizenship  of  Rome 
but  not  having  the  same  privileges.  The  patricians,  or  ordo 
senatorius,  were  of  the  governing  class;  the  equites,  or  ordo 
equester,  included  the  middle  class,  the  business  people  such 
as  bankers,  merchants,  contractors,  and  the  like;  the  plebe- 
ians included  the  great  body  of  citizens,  the  common  peo- 
ple. 

Slavery.  The  greatest  development  of  slavery  was  at  Rome, 
reaching  its  high  point  in  the  last  century  of  the  Republic. 
The  Romans  had  slaves  from  the  earliest  history.  In  the 
early  times  those  who  held  slaves  usually  did  not  have  more 
than  two  or  three  each,  but  as  the  years  went  on  civic  condi- 
tions changed  and  a  great  demand  for  slaves  arose  and  the 
numbers  increased  till  in  the  time  of  Augustus  it  is  esti- 
mated that  the  whole  number  of  free  citizens  in  Rome  might 
have  been  a  half  million  or  more  and  the  slave  population 
half  that  number,  one  in  every  three  of  the  population  of 
Rome  at  that  time  being  a  slave.^ 

The  slaves  came  from  the  children  of  slaves,  from  persons 
becoming  slaves  under  the  law  of  debt,  from  importations 
from  other  slave-holding  countries,  from  kidnappers  who 
snatched  up  people  from  other  countries  and  even  from  the 
coasts  of  Italy,  but  the  great  source  of  all  was  from  captives 
in  the  numerous  wars  waged  by  Rome  upon  other  peoples. 
It  is  claimed  that  in  one  campaign  there  were  150,000  people 
sold  into  slavery  at  its  close.  Slave-dealers  followed  the 
armies  and  there  were  slave-markets  at  Rome  and  other  cities. 
Slaves  were  sold  in  open  market  just  as  animals  and  at  high- 
tide  prices  were  very  low.  There  were  all  kinds  of  slaves, 
as  they  came  from  many  parts  of  Africa,  Asia,  and  Europe. 
The  greatest  number  were  used  in  agriculture  and  in  do- 
mestic service.  There  were  all  kinds  of  mechanics  among 
the  slaves  and  some  most  highly  skilled.  There  were  edu- 
cated slaves  coming  from  Greece  and  other  countries  of  the 
East,  so  that  they  were  used  for  the  training  of  the  young 
and  for  the  carrying  on  of  business  for  their  masters.  There 
even  were  physicians  and  surgeons  among  the  slaves,  many 
households  having  one  to  look  after  the  needs  of  the  free  and 
the  slave.  There  also  were  slaves  whose  duty  it  was  to  give 
amusement  and  entertainment,  such  as  musicians,  dancers, 
acrobats,  jugglers,  rope-walkers,  and  the  like.  Too,  there  were 
poor  dwarfs  and  simple-minded  among  the  slaves,  who  were 

'Fowler,  Social  life  at  Borne,  213. 


The  Child  in  Rome  215 

used  to  amuse  master  and  mistress  and  guests  as  did  the 
jesters  of  the  courts  in  Europe  later. 

In  the  early  times  when  each  family  had  but  few  slaves, 
they  were  well  treated  and  well  cared  for,  being  considered 
as  members  of  the  household.  But  later,  and  especially  when 
slaves  became  so  numerous  and  cheap,  they  were  often  treated 
very  badly  and  neglected.  The  slaves  were  the  absolute 
property  of  the  masters  and  unprotected  by  the  law,  but 
later  laws  were  made  for  their  protection.  The  punishments 
were  often  extremely  severe.  They  were  brutally  beaten, 
legs  fettered,  heavy  iron  collars  put  around  their  necks, 
thrown  into  dungeons,  put  at  hard  labor  till  worn  out.  Their 
capital  punishment  was  crucifixion,  being  thrown  to  the  ani- 
mals of  the  vivarium,  or  set  to  fight  the  fierce  beasts  in  the 
amphitheater.  They  were  not  always  treated  badly  and  even 
some  became  greatly  esteemed  by  master  and  mistress  and 
sometimes  master  and  slave  became  friends,  as  some  slaves 
were  highly  educated  and  accomplished  men.  Such  slaves 
were  usually  set  free  and  thus  became  freemen. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  here  the  effect  of  slavery 
upon  the  citizen  or  the  nation,  for  the  world  has  fully  de- 
cided that  slavery  is  not  good  for  the  slave  nor  for  the  master 
nor  for  the  state. 

The  Home.  ' '  The  oldest  Italian  dwelling  was  a  mere  wig- 
wam, with  a  hearth  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  and  a  hole  at 
the  top  to  let  the  smoke  out. "  ^  As  Rome  kept  growing  the 
houses  kept  improving  until  within  the  city  the  buildings 
became  among  the  most  wonderful  and  beautiful  in  the  world. 
Also  the  Romans  built  beautiful  country  residences,  villas, 
out  from  Rome.  Little  was  known  about  the  houses  of  the 
Romans  until  Pompeii  and  other  cities  were  discovered  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  having  been  buried  by  an 
eruption  of  Vesuvius  in  79  a.  d.  The  houses  and  contents 
in  Pompeii  were  well  preserved,  as  the  city  was  covered 
with  ashes,  while  the  other  places  were  more  or  less  destroyed 
by  streams  of  lava. 

"When  Rome  became  so  filled  with  people,  only  the  wealthy 
were  able  to  have  houses  of  their  own,  the  well-to-do  and  the 
poor  had  to  find  place  in  huge  lodging-houses  called  insulae 
(islands),  because  they  occupied  the  entire  block  and  so 
were  surrounded  by  streets.  Before  the  great  fire  in  the 
time  of  Nero,  the  streets  were  irregular  and  narrow.    In  the 

•Fowler,  Social  life  at  Eome,  240. 


216  '  The  Historical  Child 

earlier  times  of  the  Republic  the  houses  were  three  or  four 
stories  high  and  the  number  of  stories  grew  until  the  time  of 
Augustus,  the  maximum  height  of  the  frontage  of  a  private 
building  was  made  70  feet  (Roman  measure),  which  gave  room 
for  six  or  seven  stories  which  height  was  reduced  after  the 
fire  of  Nero  to  60  feet,  five  or  six  stories.  These  houses  were 
erected  by  speculators  and  were  of  poor  material  and  poorly . 
constructed,  so  that  they  were  continually  crumbling  and 
tumbling  and  burning  down.  Being  cheaply  constructed  and 
poorly  repaired  they  did  not  afford  great  protection  against 
the  weather  and  so  it  was  fortunate  for  the  poor  people  that  the 
climate  of  Italy  for  the  most  part  favored  an  out-of-door  life. 

There  were  three  parts  in  a  Roman  house,  which  were  ar- 
ranged in  the  same  order  in  almost  every  house,  although 
there  might  have  been  other  rooms  attached  to  them.  In 
front  was  the  atrium,  partly  covered ;  then  came  a  center 
space,  the  tahliiium,  which  was  entirely  covered;  and  adjoin- 
ing this  latter  was  the  peristylium,  an  open  court  surrounded 
by  columns. 

The  atrium  was  the  essential  feature  that  marked  off  the 
Roman  house  from  that  of  Greece  and  other  countries  of  the 
East.  In  the  primitive  houses,  and  in  later  times  with  the 
poor  and  the  middle  classes,  this  was  used  for  both  kitchen 
and  sitting-room,  while  with  the  wealthier  people  it  was  the 
reception-room.  This  contained  the  family  hearth  and  altar. 
The  street  door  did  not  open  directly  from  the  street  but  there 
was  a  passage  from  the  street  and  the  door  was  placed  at  the 
end  of  this  passage.  Usually  there  was  a  square  opening  in 
the  roof  of  the  atrium  for  light  and  in  the  floor  underneath 
this  opening  was  a  cistern  for  receiving  the  water  that  rained 
in  and  there  were  pipes  under  the  floor  for  carrying  off  the 
water. 

The  tahlinum  was  usually  separated  from  the  atrium  by 
curtains.  This  contained  the  family  records  and  archives ;  the 
peristylium  was  a  later  addition  to  the  Roman  house,  coming 
when  Greek  architecture  became  to  be  used  in  the  buildings. 
This  became  the  ornamental  part  of  the  house,  with  fountains 
and  flowers  and  shrubbery  occupying  the  center  of  the  court, 
surrounded  by  pillars  and  open  to  the  sky.  There  were  other 
rooms,  among  them  being  the  alae,  small  rooms  at  the  right 
and  left  of  the  atrium,  and  from  the  peristyliv^m  opened  the 
triclinium,  dining'room,  the  culina,  kitchen,  and  the  sacra^ 
rium,  chapel.  • 


The  Child  in  Rome  217 

The  street  door  was  of  wood,  having  two  leaves  (a  folding- 
door),  moving  on  pivots,  and  in  private  houses  opening  in- 
ward and  outward  in  public  buildings.  When  opening  inward 
the  door  was  secured  by  a  bolt  and  when  opening  outward 
by  lock  and  key.  There  were  but  few  windows  and  in  gen- 
eral only  in  rooms  above  the  ground  floor.  Paper,  linen 
cloth,  horn,  and  mica  were  used  in  the  windows  and  glass 
seems  to  have  come  into  use  under  the  early  emperors. 
The  walls  were  decorated  with  paintings.  The  floors  of  the 
primitive  houses  consisted  of  clay  and  then  came  bricks  and 
tiles  and  stones  and  later  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  class  had 
marble  and  mosaics. 

' '  The  Romans  resorted  to  various  methods  of  warming  their 
rooms.  They  made  use  of  portable  furnaces  for  carrying 
embers  and  burning  coals  to  warm  the  different  apartments 
of  the  house,  and  which  they  seem  to  have  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  room.  They  also  had  a  method  of  heating  the 
rooms  by  hot  air,  which  was  conveyed  by  means  of  pipes 
through  the  different  apartments.  They  also  had  a  kind  of 
stove,  in  which  wood  appears  to  have  been  usually  burned.  It 
has  been  a  matter  of  much  dispute  whether  the  Romans  had 
chimneys  to  carry  off  the  smoke,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
these  were  entirely  unknown  to  the  Romans. ' '  * 

There  were  four  representative  kinds  of  chairs  used  by  the 
Romans.  The  first  kind  was  a  folding-stool  with  curved  legs 
placed  crosswise;  the  second  kind  had  four  perpendicular 
legs  and  were  without  backs;  the  third  kind  were  similar  to 
the  second  but  had  a  back ;  and  the  fourth  kind  was  a  chair  of 
state,  with  high  or  low  back,  the  back  and  legs  being  orna- 
mented. 

The  couches  were  of  three  kinds.  There  was  the  low  dining- 
couch,  upon  which  they  reclined  at  meals;  then  there  were 
the  beds  for  sleep  at  night  or  siesta  by  day;  and  the  third 
kind  had  usually  two  arms  but  no  back  and  which  were  chiefly 
used  for  reading  or  writing  at  night.  With  the  bed  was  the 
mattress,  filled  with  straw  or  sheep's  wool  or  the  down  of 
geese  and  swans;  bolsters  and  cushions,  stuffed  as  the  mat- 
tress ;  blankets  and  sheets,  of  simple  material  or  dyed  and  em- 
broidered ;  pillows  for  propping  the  head  or  the  left  elbow  of 
the  sleeping  or  reclining  persons;  and  footstools. 

They  had  benches  of  wood  and  stone  and  bronze,  some  of 
them  being  semi-circular  and  large  enough  to  hold  quite    a 

*Dean,  History  of  civilization,  III,  221. 


218  The  Historical  Child 

number  of  people.  There  were  square,  round,  and  crescent- 
shaped  tables,  some  being  quite  large,  others  smaller  with 
three  legs,  and  a  one-legged  table,  often  quite  small  and  made 
of  the  rarest  material  and  elegant  in  design.  There  were  pots 
and  pans  of  various  kinds,  and  buckets  and  dishes  and  drink- 
ing-vessels,  and  other  kinds  of  vessels. 

The  houses  at  night  were  lighted  with  lamps.  The  lamp 
consisted  of  the  oil-reservoir,  which  contained  the  oil,  the 
nose,  through  which  went  the  wick,  and  the  handle  to  carry  it 
by.  The  lamps  were  put  on  stands  or  were  suspended  from 
lamp-holders  or  they  hung  do^\^l  from  the  ceiling.  The  stands 
and  lamp-holders  that  were  used  by  the  poorer  people  were 
made  of  common  wood  or  metal,  while  those  of  the  rich  were 
of  costly  material  and  often  most  beautifully  adorned  with 
figures  of  all  kinds  of  animals  carved  upon  them.  They  had 
lanterns  also,  which  had  for  covering  horn,  oiled  canvas,  and 
bladder,  and  later,  glass. 

Women.  There  were  three  classes  of  women  at  Rome — the 
citizen-woman,  the  alien,  and  the  slave.  Unlike  as  in  Athens, 
the  foreign  woman  never  rose  to  prominence  at  Rome  but  it 
was  the  citizen-woman  who  took  rank  always  before  any 
other.  Nor  was  a  male  citizen  allowed  to  marry  an  alien 
woman,  for  citizens  were  wanted  and,  therefore,  both  parents 
needed  to  be  citizens.  But  as  citizenship  was  expanded  to  the 
parts  of  the  world  outside  of  Rome,  the  alien  woman  became  a 
citizen,  and  so  a  Roman  could  marry  her  and  still  maintain  his 
own  and  his  offspring's  rights. 

In  the  early  times  the  woman  remained  at  home.  She  en- 
gaged in  spinning  and  weaving  and  other  household  duties, 
and  she  had  supreme  control  of  household  affairs.  She  was 
under  the  authority  of  her  husband  and  she  had  no  individual 
rights  in  property  and  she  could  not  make  a  will.  Later  she 
acquired  more  rights  and  privileges.  The  condition  of 
women  at  Rome  was  quite  a  deal  better  than  at  Athens  or  in 
any  other  country  previous  to  Roman  times.  For  at  Rome 
women  were  allowed  more  freedom  and  participation  in 
public  affairs,  they  were  allowed  more  to  share  in  the  joys  and 
pleasures  of  the  husband  and  other  people,  and  they  enjoyed 
a  greater  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  men. 

That  Roman  women  appeared  in  public  and  that  they  were 
not  afraid  to  stand  up  for  their  rights  is  illustrated  in  the 
following.  In  215  b.  c,  when  Rome  needed  resources  for  the 
second  Punic  war,  the  Oppian  Law,  was  passed  which  forbade 


The  Child  in  Borne  219 

any  woman  to  have  gold  trinkets  of  the  weight  of  more  than 
half  an  ounce,  to  wear  a  parti-colored  garment,  or  to  ride  in 
a  chariot  within  the  city  of  Rome  or  a  town  occupied  by 
Roman  citizens  or  within  a  mile  of  these  places,  except  for  a 
religious  purpose.  Twenty  years  later,  when  the  war  was 
over  and  prosperity  had  returned,  the  women  asked  for  the 
repeal  of  this  law.  They  started  a  campaign  and  talked  about 
it  in  every  place,  they  interviewed  men  on  the  street,  and 
they  stated  the  case  to  every  one  that  had  a  vote.  Women 
from  towns  and  villages  came  into  Rome  to  help.  On  the 
day  of  the  vote,  the  women  rose  early  and  filled  the  streets  to 
the  Forum  and  used  every  means  to  gain  their  cause.  They 
finally  overcame  the  opposition,  the  law  was  repealed,  and  the 
women  recovered  their  liberty  of  riding  and  dressing  as  they 
had  formerly  done. 

The  Roman  women  would  even  go  to  greater  extremes  than 
the  conducting  of  a  political  campaign.  Over  a  hundred  years 
before  the  event  recorded  above,  when  the  women  had  much 
less  privileges,  when  the  despotic  actions  of  husbands  became 
unendurable,  the  women  sought  a  way  of  rescuing  themselves. 
At  the  time  a  number  of  men  of  the  upper  classes  were  at- 
tacked by  an  unknown  disease,  in  every  case  attended  by  sim- 
ilar symptoms,  and  nearly  all  died.  No  cause  could  be  found 
until  a  female  slave  offered  to  explain  upon  promise  of  free- 
dom and  to  suffer  no  harm  in  consequence.  Upon  the  Senate's 
guaranteeing  such  to  her,  she  told  them  that  the  deaths  were 
from  poison,  that  the  wives  met  together  to  compound  the 
poison.  She  took  the  officials  to  the  place,  where  they  found 
the  women  preparing  the  ingredients.  The  women  were 
charged  with  the  matter,  and  to  prove  their  innocence  they 
partook  of  the  drugs,  upon  which  death  followed,  and  with 
the  same  symptoms  as  with  the  men.  Upon  investigation  170 
of  the  women  were  found  guilty  and  it  is  held  that  300  or 
more  wives  had  entered  into  the  plot  to  put  their  husbands  to 
death.  Some  doubts  are  thrown  upon  this  story  by  some  his- 
torians but  at  any  rate  it  is  stated  that  the  Romans  believed 
it  and  told  it  for  the  truth. 

Another  story  is  told  of  women's  appearing  in  public.  At 
the  time  of  the  second  triumvirate,  funds  being  needed,  a  de- 
cree was  passed  requiring  that  fourteen  hundred  of  the  richest 
women  should  make  a  valuation  of  their  property,  under 
severe  penalties  against  concealment  or  undervaluation,  and 
that  they  should  turn  over  such  a  portion  as  the  triumvirs 


220  The  Historical  Child 

might  require.  The  women  appealed  to  the  sister  of  one  of 
the  triumvirs  and  to  the  mother  and  wife  of  another  but  with 
little  success.  They  then  in  a  body  went  to  the  tribunal  of 
the  triumvirs,  whose  acts  no  man  dared  question,  making  for 
their  spokesman,  Hortensia,  the  daughter  of  the  famous 
orator,  Hortensius,  and  protested  against  the  edict.  It  is 
claimed  this  is  the  first  time  to  be  enunciated  the  principle  of 
"no  taxation  without  representation."  They  succeeded  in 
getting  the  amount  reduced  to  a  comparatively  small  sum. 

There  are  some  other  instances  of  the  public  assembling  of 
women.  Under  the  empire  there  was  an  assembly  of  women 
known  as  the  conventus  matronarum,  or  the  "little  senate," 
as  one  writer  of  the  time  named  it.  The  Emperor  Helioga- 
balus  built  on  the  Quirinal  a  meeting-place  for  this  body. 
This  body  of  matrons  met  and  discussed  and  voted  upon  and 
decided  the  various  points  of  court  etiquette,  such  as  questions 
of  dress,  precedence,  and  the  use  of  carriages. 

The  public  standing  of  the  citizen-woman  at  Athens  has 
been  given  in  the  quotations  on  pages  179-181,  which  may  be 
compared  with  the  public  standing  of  the  citizen-woman  at 
Rome  as  given  in  the  following: 

"If  we  take  the  period  of  Roman  history  from  150  b.  c. 
to  150  A.  D.,  we  shall  be  surprised  at  the  number  of  the 
women  of  whom  it  is  recorded  that  they  were  loved  ardently 
by  their  husbands,  exercised  a  beneficial  influence  on  them, 
and  helped  them  in  their  political  or  literary  work.  Many  of 
these  women  had  received  an  excellent  education,  they  were 
capable  and  thoughtful,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  State.  It  is  well  known  that  it  was  Cornelia, 
the  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  who  inspired  her  sons  with  the 
resolution  to  cope  with  the  evils  that  beset  the  State,  and  her 
purpose  did  not  waver  when  she  knew  they  had  to  face  death 
in  their  country's  cause.  Julia,  the  daughter  of  Julius 
Caesar,  and  the  wife  of  Pompey,  kept  the  two  leaders  on  good 
terms  as  long  as  she  lived,  and  acted  with  great  sweetness  and 
prudence.  Cornelia,  Pompey 's  second  wife,  was  a  woman  of 
great  culture,  and  a  most  faithful  and  devoted  wife.  Plu- 
tarch thus  describes  her:  'The  young  woman  possessed  many 
charms  besides  her  youthful  beauty,  for  she  was  well  in- 
structed in  letters,  in  playing  on  the  lyre,  and  in  geometry, 
and  she  had  been  accustomed  to  listen  to  philosophical  dis- 
courses with  profit.  In  addition  to  this,  she  had  a  disposition 
free  from  all  affectation  and  pedantic  display,  which  such  ac- 


The  Child  in  Rome  221 

quirements  generally  breed  in  women.'  The  intervention  of 
Octavia,  the  wife  of  Antony,  in  affairs  of  state  was  entirely 
beneficial  and  judicious.  The  first  Agrippina  displayed  cour- 
age and  energy,  herself  crushed  a  mutiny  among  the  soldiers, 
and  was  in  every  way  a  help  to  her  husband.  Tacitus  praises 
his  mother-in-law,  the  wife  of  Agricola,  as  a  model  of  virtue, 
and  he  describes  her  as  living  in  the  utmost  harmony  with  her 
husband,  each  preferring  the  other  in  love.  And  Pliny  the 
younger  gives  a  beautiful  picture  of  his  wife  Calpurnia,  tell- 
ing a  friend  how  she  showed  the  greatest  ability,  frugality, 
and  knowledge  of  literature.  Especially  'she  has  my  books,' 
he  says;  'she  reads  them  again  and  again;  she  even  commits 
them  to  memory.  What  anxiety  she  feels  when  I  am  going  to 
make  a  speech  before  the  ,iud2:cs,  what  joy  when  I  have  fin- 
ished it.  She  places  people  here  and  there  in  the  audience 
to  bring  her  word  what  applauses  have  been  accorded  to  my 
speech,  what  has  been  the  issue  of  the  trial.  If  I  give  read- 
ings of  my  works  anywhere,  she  sits  close  by,  separated  by  a 
screen,  and  drinks  in  my  praises  with  most  greedy  ears.  My 
verses  also  she  sings,  and  sets  them  to  the  music  of  the  lyre, 
no  artist  guiding  her,  but  only  love,  who  is  the  best  master. ' 

"These  are  only  a  few  of  the  numerous  instances  that 
might  be  adduced,  in  which  wives  behaved  with  a  gentleness 
or  courage  or  self-abnegation  worthy  of  all  praise.  It  is 
true  that  they  took  an  active  part  in  the  management  of 
affairs,  but,  on  the  whole,  it  must  be  allowed  that  they  acted 
with  great  good  sense.  And  there  is  a  curious  proof  of  this 
in  the  times  of  the  Empire.  Wives  went  with  their  husbands 
to  their  provinces,  and  often  took  part  in  the  administration 
of  them.  Some  of  the  old  stern  moralists  were  for  putting  an 
end  to  this  state  of  matters,  and  proposed  that  they  should 
not  be  allowed  to  accompany  their  husbands  to  their  spheres 
of  duty;  but,  after  a  debate  in  the  Senate,  the  measure  was 
rejected  by  a  large  majority,  who  thereby  affirmed  that  their 
help  was  beneficial. 

"No  doubt  it  was  their  good  sense,  their  kindliness,  and 
their  willingness  to  co-operate  with  men,  that  led  to  their 
freedom  and  power  in  political  matters.  And  this  power 
was  sometimes  very  great.  Cicero,  in  a  letter  to  Atticus,  re- 
lates an  interview  which  he  had  at  Antium  44  B.  C.  with 
Brutus  and  Cassius.  Favorinus  was  also  present,  and  besides 
him  there  were  three  women — Servilia,  the  mother  of  Brutus ; 
Tertulla,  the  wife  of  Cassius  and  sister  of  Brutus ;  and  Porcia, 


222  The  Historical  Child 

the  wife  of  Brutus  and  daughter  of  Cato.  Servilia  strikes  in 
twice  in  the  course  of  the  discussion,  and  it  is  evident  that  her 
words  carried  weight.  On  one  occasion  she  promises  to  get 
a  clause  expunged  from  a  decree  of  the  Senate.  There  must 
have  been  many  such  deilberations  where  women  were 
present. ' '  ^ 

Since  women  entered  into  public  affairs  at  Rome,  it  would 
be  natural  to  conclude  they  would  enter  upon  some  of  the 
public  vocations  that  were  occupied  solely  by  men  in  the 
earlier  times.  It  would  seem  that  they  did  enter  into  the 
medical  profession  but,  perhaps,  not  the  better  class  of  women 
and  maybe  not  the  citizen-women  at  all.  Since  medical  art 
was  introduced  from  Greece,  most  all  the  men  that  followed  it 
were  Greek  freedmen  and  likewise  the  women  were  likely  of 
the  same  nationality  and  standing.  "Whether  there  were 
women  lawyers  or  not,  it  is  true  women  were  permitted  to  ap- 
pear in  court  in  their  own  defense,  which  some  few,  at  least, 
did.  In  religion  the  cult  of  Vesta  was  entirely  in  their  hands, 
they  had  the  leading  part  in  conducting  the  rites  of  Ceres  and 
other  female  deities,  and  the  wives  of  priests  in  some  in- 
stances held  official  positions  along  with  their  husbands. 

"Women  occupied  themselves,  too,  with  literature.  Very 
little  is  known  of  their  writings  and  this  mostly  from  the  male 
writers  of  their  period,  who  did  not  place  a  high  estimate 
upon  these  compositions  of  the  women,  either  prose  or  poetry. 
Many  of  the  women  who  did  not  take  an  active  part  in  litera- 
ture did  interest  themselves  in  the  writings  of  relatives  and 
friends.  Other  women  became  critics  and  took  pride  in  ex- 
pressing their  views,  while  others  directed  their  energies  to- 
ward philosophy  and  science. 

"Ladies,  when  not  poets,  were  critics,  and  as  such,  deemed 
by  Juvenal  worse  than  tipplers.  Before  they  had  been  five 
minutes  at  table,  they  began  to  discourse  aesthetically  on 
Homer  and  Virgil,  monopolizing  the  conversation,  with  a 
hammer  and  tong-like  effect.  They  paraded  their  snacks  of 
knowledge,  made  quotations  from  forgotten  authors;  gram- 
mar in  hand,  corrected  their  friends'  slips.  A  woman,  says 
Juvenal,  may  have  the  encyclopfedia  by  heart  and  yet  know 
nothing.  Martial,  too,  mocks  the  purist  woman,  and  yearns,  as 
his  life-wish,  for  a  not  too  learned  wife."  ° 

"Donaldson,  Woman,  Her  position  and  influence  in  ancient  Greece 
and  Rome,  120-123. 

« Friedlander,  Koman  life  and  manners,  I,   253. 


The  Child  in  Borne  223 

"In  the  good  old  days  of  the  legitunate  drama  under 
Plautus,  Terence,  Accius,  and  Pacuvius,  women  never  ap- 
peared upon  the  stage.  Feminine  roles  were  taken  by  men  in 
female  dress.  But,  with  the  appearance  of  the  mime  and  the 
farce  in  the  first  century  before  our  era,  women  began  to  take 
part  in  theatrical  and  musical  performances.  Their  larger 
participation  in  such  matters  under  the  Empire  is  proved  by 
the  discovery  of  the  burying  place  of  a  guild  of  women  mimes, 
just  outside  of  Rome,  along  the  highways  leading  from  the 
city.  Women  took  a  very  active  part  in  public  musical  per- 
formances, if  we  may  draw  an  inference  from  the  number  of 
epitaphs  which  we  find  in  honor  of  women  who  had  been  solo 
singers  and  flute  players."^  AVomen  entered,  also,  into  the 
commoner  affairs  of  public  life,  as  costumers,  seamstresses, 
washerwomen,  weavers,  fishmongers,  barmaids,  and  the  like. 

"If  we  make  a  general  survey  of  the  facts  which  have 
been  noted  above,  it  is  clear  that  Roman  women  took  an  active 
part  in  the  literary  and  religious  life  of  the  time,  and  in  many 
of  the  cults  held  priesthoods  or  ofScially  recognized  positions 
from  very  early  times.  Their  interest  in  literature,  however, 
was  not  serious,  and  they  have  produced  very  little  of  per- 
manent value.  In  the  practice  of  law  they  never  succeeded  in 
getting  a  sure  foothold.  Women  of  the  lower  classes  entered 
freely  into  the  medical  profession  and  the  trades,  but  so  far 
as  medicine  is  concerned  women  confined  their  practice  to 
members  of  their  own  sex.  The  principal  branches  of  busi- 
ness which  they  took  up  were  those  connected  with  the  manu- 
facture of  wearing  apparel.  The  pursuits  of  the  shopkeeper 
and  the  artisan  were  naturally  left  to  the  lower  classes,  but 
women  of  standing  in  society  engaged  in  industries  organized 
on  a  large  scale,  as  we  can  see  clearly  enough  in  the  ease  of 
the  brick  business. ' '  ® 

In  the  early  days  of  Rome,  while  the  people  were  struggling 
to  maintain  themselves  and  the  nation,  the  virtue  of  the 
women  stood  out  strong.  But  as  the  days  of  hardships  passed 
and  comfort  and  ease  and  luxury  came  in  with  the  conquests, 
laxity  of  morals  arose  till  under  the  empire,  if  the  writers  of 
the  times  may  be  believed,  licentiousness  and  not  virtue  was 
the  dominant  trait  of  the  women  as  well  as  the  men.  Yet 
there  were  many  good  women,  as  is  shown  in  the  quotations 
a  few  pages  back. 

'Abbott,  Society  and  politics  in  ancient  Rome,  95. 
"Ibid.,  98-99. 


224  The  Historical  Child 

The  social  vices  of  Asia  found  place  in  Rome  and  while 
heretofore  only  the  foreign  women  were  of  evil  character,  at 
the  time  of  the  empire  the  citizen-women  entered  into  the  life, 
and  in  19  a.  d.  even  a  woman  of  prgetorian  birth  registered 
herself  at  the  sedile's  as  a  prostitute.  This  created  quite  a 
feeling  at  Rome  and  a  decree  was  made  by  the  Senate  that  any 
woman  whose  grandfather,  father,  or  husband  had  been  a 
knight  should  not  be  enrolled  as  a  public  woman. 

The  public  life  of  the  times,  too,  tended  toward  the  lowering 
of  the  standard  of  women.  The  circus,  the  theater,  and  the 
amphitheater  were  open  to  them  and  they  attended  in  great 
numbers  and  witnessed  the  indecent  and  obscene  acts  and  the 
debasing  fights  and  slaughters.  It  became  the  fashion  for 
women  even  of  the  highest  rank  to  interest  themselves  in  the 
actors,  athletes,  circus-drivers,  gladiators,  stage-singers,  vocal- 
ists, and  musicians,  and  often  going  into  excesses.  Panto- 
mime dancers  were  the  favorites  with  the  women  as  they 
"were  very  beautiful  young  men,  whose  art  lent  them  fresh 
grace.  About  22  or  23  a.  d.  they  were  banished  from  Italy, 
on  account  of  the  factions  they  caused,  and  their  relations 
with  women,  who  must  have  been  of  high  rank,  otherwise  no 
such  ordinance  would  have  been  passed."^  Also  there  were 
the  banquets,  which  gave  further  opportunities  for  the  meet- 
ing of  the  women  with  the  men.  With  their  obscene  songs 
and  dances  and  stories  added  to  enflaming  food  and  drinks, 
they  helped  to  debase  women  and  to  arouse  their  passions. 

Marriage.  In  the  earlier  days  of  Rome,  when  religion  was 
purer  than  in  later  times,  and  children  were  desired  to  per- 
petuate the  household  religion,  celibacy  was  looked  upon  as 
an  undesired  state  and  deserving  censure;  but  in  later  times, 
when  high  moral  and  religious  tendencies  went  down,  child- 
lessness was  preferred  to  parenthood  and  celibacy  to  mar- 
riage. ]\Iarriage  was  a  very  important  affair  as  it  meant  the 
bringing  of  a  stranger  into  the  household  to  enter  into  the 
family  worship,  to  take  part  in  the  sacrifices  to  the  household 
gods,  the  deities  which  presided  over  the  welfare  of  that  par- 
ticular family.  Thus  it  was  a  solemn  obligation  and  one 
which  deserved  careful  consideration.  Up  to  the  time  of 
Augustus,  there  were  no  laws  in  regard  to  marriage,  except 
as  to  the  disposition  of  the  dowries,  as  previous  to  that  time 
it  was  deemed  essentially  a  private  transaction. 

To  understand  marriage  at  Rome,  it  is  needed  to  keep  in 

•  Friedlander,  Eoman  life  and  maaners,  I,  247. 


The  Child  in  Borne  225 

mind  that  a  woman  was  always  considered  to  be  under  the 
control  of  a  man — father,  husband,  or  guardian.  Marriage 
might  or  might  not  mean  the  transfer  of  this  right  to  the 
husband,  so  that  there  were  two  general  kinds  of  marriage 
contracts.  By  the  one,  cum  convcntione,  the  wife  passed  from 
her  father's  family  into  the  family  of  her  husband,  in  manum 
convenii,  and  stood  in  relation  to  her  husband  as  a  daughter, 
she  surrendered  her  patrimony  and  became  one  of  her  hus- 
band's legal  heirs.  In  the  second,  sine  conventione,  the  wife 
remained  under  the  rule  of  her  father,  as  before  the  marriage, 
and  retained  her  own  property  and  her  right  of  inheritance 
in  her  father's  estate.  In  the  first  case,  the  wife  became  a 
materfamilias  while  in  the  second  she  was  simply  an  uxor. 

In  the  marriage,  sine  conventione,  there  was,  perhaps,  no 
form  required  as  cohabitation  of  the  man  and  woman  consti- 
tuted the  marriage.  In  the  marriage,  cum  conventione,  there 
were  three  forms — usus,  coemptio,  and  confarreatio.  Mar- 
riage by  usus  prevailed  among  the  plebian,  common  people; 
marriage  by  coemptio  was  the  one  commonly  practised  by  the 
middle  classes ;  and  marriage  by  confarreatio  was  the  favorite 
form  in  the  highest  social  circles. 

Marriage  by  usus  was  the  simplest  form,  in  which  the  wife 
entered  into  her  husband's  manus,  if  she  lived  a  whole  year 
in  the  man's  house,  both  parties  agreeing  to  the  relation.  In 
this  case  then  the  father's  power  was  gone  and  he  could  not 
even  compel  the  wife  to  leave  her  husband's  home.  But 
should  the  woman  absent  herself  from  the  man's  house  for 
three  nights  in  succession  during  the  year,  then  the  bond  was 
broken.  In  the  times  when  divorce  was  denied  to  the  woman, 
she  would  often  avail  herself  of  this  right  of  remaining  away 
three  nights  in  a  year,  so  that  if  need  arose  she  could  have 
herself  claimed  by  her  father  or  guardian  and  in  this  way 
she  could  leave  her  husband. 

In  marriage  by  coemptio,  there  was  a  kind  of  mutual  pur- 
chase, a  fictitious  sale,  which  the  couple  made  to  each  other  of 
their  person,  in  which  each  delivered  to  the  other  a  small 
piece  of  money  and  repeated  certain  words.  The  father 
emancipated  his  daughter  in  favor  of  her  future  husband  and 
she  came  to  sustain  to  the  husband  the  relation  of  a  daughter, 
took  his  name,  gave  up  all  her  goods  to  him,  and  declared  that 
she  entered  into  the  union  of  her  own  free  will. 

Marriage  by  confarreatio  was  the  only  form  that  required 
religious  ceremonies.     This  was  the  most  solemn  and  stately 


226  The  Historical  Child 

form  of  marriage  as  well  as  the  oldest.  By  it  tlie  wife  came 
into  the  absolute  power  of  the  husband  by  sacred  laws  but 
likewise  she  became  a  partner  in  all  his  substance  and  in  his 
sacred  rights.  In  case  of  the  husband 's  death  without  will  the 
wife  inherited  equally  with  the  children  and  if  no  children 
then  she  inherited  his  whole  fortune.  This  was  a  public  cere- 
mony, conducted  by  the  pontif  ex  maximus  or  the  flamen  dialis, 
in  the  presence  of  at  least  ten  witnesses,  and  the  bridal  couple 
tasted  a  cake  made  of  a  sort  of  wheat  called  far,  which  with 
a  sheep,  was  offered  in  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  The  priests 
themselves  had  to  be  married  by  this  ceremony  and  none  but 
the  children  of  such  marriage  could  ever  become  flamen  of 
Jupiter,  Mars,  or  Quirinus,  or  vestal  virgins. 

A  true  marriage  could  be  made  only  between  Roman 
citizens,  but  as  Eoman  citizenship  became  widely  extended 
there  was  thus  much  latitude  for  choice.  The  lowest  age  for 
marriage  was  fixed  by  law  at  fourteen  for  the  males  and 
twelve  for  the  female,  but  usually  the  girl  did  not  marry  be- 
fore fifteen  or  sixteen  and  the  boy  not  till  he  attained  man- 
hood, yet  there  were  a  number  of  instances  of  early  marriages. 
A  woman  of  twenty  or  a  man  of  twenty-five  who  was  not  a 
parent  became  liable  to  the  decree  of  Augustus  against  celi- 
bacy and  childlessness.  All  within  the  sixth  degree  of  rela- 
tionship were  originally  prohibited  from  marriage,  but  later 
this  was  lowered  to  relatives  of  the  fourth  degree  and  when, 
in  49  A,  D.,  the  Senate  permitted  the  Emperor  Claudius  to 
marry  Agrippina,  the  daughter  of  his  brother  Germanicus,  it 
was  lowered  to  the  third  degree.  But  a  woman  was  not  per- 
mitted to  marry  her  maternal  uncle  nor  a  man  either  his  pa- 
ternal or  maternal  aunt. 

Marriage  was  a  family  arrangement,  a  matter  of  family 
convenience,  hence,  although  the  law  made  the  consent  of  the 
girl  necessary,  yet  really  it  was  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the 
parents,  for  it  is  well  known  that  children  were  sometimes 
betrothed  by  the  parents  at  a  very  early  age,  and  the  girl  was 
married  at  the  beginning  of  her  thirteenth  year,  both  betrothal 
and  marriage  being  at  an  age  when  the  child  was  wholly  under 
the  control  of  the  parent.  In  the  early  times,  the  betrothal 
was  a  simple  affair  but  later  it  became  quite  formal.  This 
occurred  at  night  or  early  morning,  in  the  latter  case  the 
friends  assembling  at  early  dawn  at  the  home  of  the  girl's 
father  or  the  nearest  relative.    The  amount  of  the  girl 's  dowry 


The  Child  in  Borne  227 

having  been  agreed  upon,  a  contract  was  drawn  up  and  signed 
and  sealed  by  both  parties  in  the  presence  of  witnesses.  The 
boy  then  gave  the  girl,  as  a  pledge,  an  iron  ring  without  orna- 
ment or  jewels,  which  the  girl  placed  upon  the  third  finger  of 
the  left  hand,  as  from  this  was  believed  to  be  a  nerve  leading 
directly  to  the  heart.  This  was  followed  by  a  banquet  or 
feast.  The  engagement  might  be  broken  by  either  party  or  by 
the  guardians  of  either  with  no  legal  penalty  attached  and 
sometimes  this  gave  the  young  man  or  young  woman  oppor- 
tunity to  escape  a  union  not  desired.  But  as  long  as  a  be- 
trothal lasted  it  imposed  certain  restrictions,  one  being  that 
betrothed  persons  could  not  testify  against  one  another  in  the 
courts.  There  was  usually  quite  an  interval  of  time  between 
the  betrothal  and  the  marriage,  but  that  did  not  affect  the  re- 
lations of  the  couple,  as  they  were  not  together  any  more  than 
before  the  betrothal  so  that  really  they  did  not  get  to  know 
one  another  till  after  they  were  married. 

On  the  night  before  her  marriage  the  girl  put  off  her  toga 
prcetexta  and  her  mother  placed  on  her  a  long  white  garment 
called  a  tunica  recta  or  regilla,  and  her  loosened  hair  was  con- 
fined in  a  scarlet  net.  The  next  day,  the  wedding-day,  the 
girl  put  on  her  wedding-dress,  which  was  a  long  white  robe, 
gathered  in  at  the  waist  by  a  woolen  girdle  tied  in  the  knot  of 
Hercules,  a  true-lover's  knot,  and  said  to  be  a  charm  against 
the  evil  eye.  The  flammeum,  or  wedding-veil,  was  of  a  bril- 
liant orange  red,  or  flame-color,  quite  full,  of  thin,  fine  stuff, 
and  it  was  thrown  over  the  head  from  behind,  leaving  the  face 
exposed,  and  then  draped  gracefully  about  her.  The  bride 's 
hair  was  divided  into  six  strands  or  stresses  by  the  bridegroom 
with  the  point  of  a  spear,  and  then  ribbons  or  fillets  were 
bound  between  the  tresses  and  the  hair  was  braided  and  con- 
fined to  the  head.  On  these  braids  and  under  the  veil  was 
worn  a  garland  of  natural  flowers  which  the  bride  herself 
had  gathered. 

"The  costume  of  the  bride  is  a  complete  allegory.  This 
orange-red  veil,  this  saffron-colored  flammeum,  which  covers 
her  head  and  allows  only  the  face  to  be  seen,  is  the  usual 
ornament  of  the  flamen  's  wife,  to  whom  divorce  is  prohibited ; 
the  white  tunic  represents  virginity ;  the  head-dress  raised  in 
the  form  of  a  tower,  almost  like  that  of  the  vestals,  with  a 
javelot  which  runs  through  it,  indicates  that  the  wife  is  in 
submission  to  her  husband;  the  chaplet  of  vervain  is  the 


228  The  Historical  Child 

symbol  of  fecundity,  and  the  girdle  of  wool  which  is  tied  round 
her  waist  bears  witness  to  her  chastity."^" 

Weddings  could  not  take  place  on  any  day  of  the  year  as 
there  were  restrictions  in  reference  to  such.  As  a  great 
number  of  religious  festivals  occurred  in  the  early  summer, 
requiring  the  constant  attendance  of  the  priests,  marriages 
were  forbidden  to  take  place  during  the  whole  month  of  May 
and  the  first  half  of  June.  On  the  dies  parentales,  from  the 
thirteenth  to  the  twenty-first  of  February,  marriages  could 
not  take  place,  as  on  these  days  there  were  memorial  services 
for  deceased  kindred  and  offerings  to  their  manes.  Wedding- 
days  could  not  be  placed  upon  August  24,  October  5,  and  No- 
vember 8,  as  the  underworld  was  supposed  to  stand  open  on 
these  days,  so  they  were  most  unlucky  days.  Nor  could  such 
other  unlucky  days  be  used  as  the  kalenda,  nones,  or  ides  of 
any  month.  Nor  was  it  considered  appropriate  for  young 
girls  to  be  married  on  religious  holidays,  although  widows 
could  do  so.  The  best  time  was  considered  to  be  that  which 
followed  the  ides  of  June. 

The  guests  having  assembled  in  the  early  morning  at  the 
home  of  the  bride's  father,  or  of  her  nearest  relative,  the 
bride  being  decked  out  in  her  wedding  garments  and  the 
bridegroom  having  arrived,  the  wedding  ceremonies  began 
with  the  taking  of  auspices.  In  earlier  times  this  was  done  by 
observing  the  flight  of  birds,  but  later  by  the  examination  of 
the  entrails  of  an  animal,  which  was  conducted  by  an 
haruspexy  a  professional  diviner.  If  the  omens  were  favor- 
able, then  the  wedding  sacrifice  was  made,  usually  a  sheep, 
and  the  skin  was  spread  over  stools  or  chairs,  on  which  the 
bridal  pair  sat.  The  right  hands  of  the  pair  were  then  joined 
by  a  pronuha,  a  woman  who  had  been  married  but  once  and 
who  thus  acted  as  a  kind  of  priestess,  and  the  bride  signified 
her  willingness  to  come  into  the  nianus  of  the  bridegroom  and 
to  take  his  name  by  repeating  the  formula,  "Quando  tu  Gains, 
ego  Gaia,"  "You  being  Gains,  I  am  Gaia."  The  wedding 
party  then  went  to  a  temple  or  public  altar,  where  ofi'erings 
and  prayer  were  made  to  the  flamen  dialis  to  the  gods,  espe- 
cially to  June  as  the  patron  of  marriage.  During  the  offering, 
the  bridal  pair  sat  side  by  side,  while  during  the  prayer  they 
walked  together  slowly  around  the  altar.  These  completed, 
then  all  returned  to  the  house  of  the  bride's  father  where  a 
great  feast  was  held. 

^°  Duruy,  History  of  Rome,  V,  254. 


The  Child  in  Borne  229 

At  nightfall  the  feast  ended  and  then  came  the  deductio, 
the  leading  home  of  the  bride.  The  bridegroom  and  his 
friends  made  a  pretense  of  snatching  the  bride  away  from  her 
father's  house,  in  commemoration  of  the  rape  of  the  Sabines. 
In  reality  the  father  was  the  only  one  who  could  break  the 
bonds  that  attached  the  bride  to  the  hearth  of  her  ancestors, 
where  she  was  under  the  protection  of  the  household  gods,  and 
so  he  handed  her  over  to  the  husband  and  his  family  to  enter 
into  the  new  relations  with  them.  The  bride  was  escorted  by 
three  boys,  sons  of  living  parents,  two  of  them  holding  her  by 
the  hand,  the  other  one  going  before  her  bearing  the  bridal 
torch  of  white  thorn,  to  drive  away  the  malevolent  spirits. 
Her  way  was  lighted  by  four  married  women  bearing  pine 
torches  and  behind  her  was  borne  a  distaff,  a  spindle,  and  in 
a  basket  the  instruments  for  feminine  work.  The  procession 
went  through  the  streets  singing,  accompanied  by  flutes,  bon- 
fires were  lit  in  the  streets  and  the  streets  were  lined  with 
people,  and  specially  with  children,  as  the  bridegroom  threw 
nuts  to  them  to  show  that  he  had  given  up  childish  things, 
the  bride  also  having  given  up  her  dolls  and  playthings  by 
offering  them  to  the  household  gods  who  had  protected  her 
childhood. 

As  the  bride  came  to  the  door  of  her  new  home,  she  rubbed 
oil  on  the  doorposts  and  then  wound  woolen  bands  around 
them,  in  order  to  keep  off  baleful  spells.  She  was  then  lifted 
up  by  her  companions  so  that  her  feet  might  not  touch  the 
threshold,  sacred  to  Vesta,  the  virgin  goddess.  In  the  atrium, 
she  received  from  her  husband  the  symbolic  gifts  of  fire  and 
water.  The  two  then  knelt  together  and  with  the  bridal  torch 
lighted  their  first  hearth  fire,  offered  a  sacrifice,  and  broke  the 
cake  of  far,  and  ate  it  together.  The  husband  then  presented 
the  keys  of  the  house  to  the  wife  to  show  that  henceforth  she 
was  to  have  the  management  of  the  household.  The  day  was 
ended  with  a  feast  given  by  the  bridegroom  to  the  relatives 
and  friends. 

*  *  No  one  who  studies  this  ceremonial  of  Roman  marriage,  in 
the  light  of  the  ideas  which  it  indicates  and  reflects,  can  avoid 
the  conclusion  that  the  position  of  the  married  woman  must 
have  been  one  of  substantial  dignity,  calling  for  and  calling 
out  a  corresponding  type  of  character.  Beyond  doubt  the 
position  of  the  Roman  materfamilias  was  a  much  more  digni- 
fied one  than  that  of  the  Greek  wife.  She  was  far  indeed  from 
being  a  mere  drudge  or  squaw ;  she  shared  with  her  husband 


230  The  Historical  Child 

in  all  the  duties  of  the  household,  including  those  of  religion, 
and  within  the  house  itself  she  was  practically  supreme.  She 
lived  in  the  atrium,  and  was  not  shut  away  in  a  woman's 
chamber;  she  nursed  her  own  children  and  brought  them 
up ;  she  had  entire  control  of  the  female  slaves  who  were  her 
maids ;  she  took  her  meals  with  her  husband,  but  sitting,  not 
reclining,  and  abstaining  from  wine;  in  all  practical  matters 
she  was  consulted,  and  only  on  questions  politically  and  in- 
tellectual was  she  expected  to  be  silent.  When  she  went  out 
arrayed  in  the  graceful  stola  matronalis,  she  was  treated  with 
respect,  and  the  passers-by  made  way  for  her ;  but  it  is  charac- 
teristic of  her  position  that  she  did  not  as  a  rule  leave  the 
house  without  the  knowledge  of  her  husband,  or  without  an 
escort.  "^^ 

The  wife  was  expected  to  lament  for  her  husband  upon  his 
death  and  during  the  time  of  mourning  certain  prohibitions 
were  imposed  upon  her,  but  these  were  not  imposed  upon  the 
widower.  Severe  penalties  were  placd  upon  a  widow  who 
married  within  ten  months  after  the  death  of  her  husband. 
When  a  widow  married,  if  the  husband  went  to  live  in  her 
home,  the  bed  upon  which  the  former  husband  died  was  re- 
moved, the  door  of  the  bed-chamber  was  changed,  and  the 
things  in  the  rooms  were  moved  about,  that  there  might  be  as 
few  reminders  as  possible  of  the  former  husband. 

Concubinage  existed,  but  not  polygamy,  as  monogamy  was 
strictly  enforced  at  Rome.  This  was  so  closely  guarded  that 
a  divorced  man  could  not  marry  again  unless  the  divorce  was 
an  effective  one.  Concubinage  was  usually  between  parties 
that  could  not  enter  into  a  legal  marriage,  and  thus  the  con- 
cubine was  usually  a  woman  of  low  estate,  often  a  freed- 
woman.  The  offspring  were  considered  illegitimate  and  could 
not  enter  into  the  inheritance. 

In  the  early  times  there  were  no  divorces  in  Rome.  It  is 
claimed  that  there  were  no  divorces  during  the  first  five  hun- 
dred years  from  the  founding  of  the  city,  the  first  divorce 
occurring  about  231  b.  c,  when  Spurius  Carvilius  Ruga  put 
away  his  wife  because  she  was  barren.  But  divorces  in- 
creased till  in  the  last  years  of  the  republic  and  under  the 
empire  they  became  very  frequent.  "Seneca  says,  some 
women  counted  their  years,  not  by  consuls,  but  by  their  hus- 
bands ;  and  Juvenal,  that  some  divorced  before  the  green  bays 
of  welcome  had  faded  on  the  lintels,  and  they  might  have  had 

"Fowler,  Social  Ufe  at  Rome,  143-144. 


The  Child  in  Borne  231 

eight  husbands  in  five  years;  Tertullian,  that  women  marry 
only  in  order  to  divorce;  these  exaggerations  must  have  a 
foundation  in  truth.  .  .  .  Ovid  and  Pliny  the  younger 
had  three  wives ;  Caesar  and  Antony  four ;  Sulla  and  Pompey 
five ;  such  cases  must  have  been  frequent, ' '  ^^ 

There  were  a  number  of  causes  for  divorce,  in  the  later 
days,  the  most  common  one  being  incompatibility  of  temper. 
In  the  divorce,  the  tablets  of  the  contract  were  broken  in  the 
presence  of  seven  witnesses,  all  adult  Roman  citizens.  Re- 
pudiation was  a  less  solemn  act  and  took  place  quietly  in  the 
family.  In  the  early  times,  when  a  woman  was  divorced  she 
lost  her  dowry.  In  later  times,  a  sixth  was  kept  back  for 
adultery  and  an  eighth  for  other  crimes.  Then,  still  later,  it 
came  about  that  if  the  husband  was  divorced  by  the  wife  he 
lost  the  dowry,  but  if  the  wife  divorced  him  without  a  cause 
the  husband  retained  a  sixth  of  the  dowry  for  each  child,  but 
only  up  to  three-sixths. 

Dress.  The  Romans  had  two  principal  articles  of  dress — 
the  toga  and  the  tunica.  The  toga  was  made  of  white  woolen 
cloth.  On  festival  days  a  new  one  was  worn  or  one  newly 
cleaned.  It  was  woven  in  an  oblong  form  and  the  comers 
were  clipped  off  till  it  took  the  form  of  an  ellipse.  Its  length 
was  about  three  times  the  height  of  the  wearer,  exclusive  of 
the  head,  and  its  breadth  at  the  middle  about  twice  the  same 
height,  although  the  breadth  varied  with  time  and  fashion,  as, 
in  the  early  period  it  was  rather  narrow,  while  in  later  times 
a  fashionable  toga  was  nearly  circular.  In  putting  it  on,  the 
toga  was  folded  in  its  long  way  nearly  in  the  middle  and  one 
end  was  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder  from  behind  and  al- 
lowed to  fall  to  the  feet  in  front.  The  other  end  was  then 
brought  across  the  back  and  under  the  right  arm  and  the  folds 
were  spread  out  to  cover  the  right  side  of  the  body  to  the  calf 
of  the  leg  and  then  gathered  and  carried  across  the  breast 
and  thrown  backward  over  the  left  shoulder.  Thus  one-third 
of  the  toga  would  cover  the  left  side  and  front  of  the  body,  the 
middle  third  would  cover  the  back  and  right  side,  and  the  re- 
maining third  would  cover  the  chest  and  go  over  the  left 
shoulder.  The  diagonal  folds  across  the  breast  formed  the 
sinus,  which  was  often  used  as  a  pocket.  It  would  seem  that 
a  girdle  was  not  worn  with  the  toga  nor  pins  or  clasps  to 
fasten  it,  but  in  later  fashionable  times  small  pieces  of  lead 
were  placed  in  the  ends  and  hidden  by  tassels  which  served  to 

"  Priedlander,  Roman  life  and  manners,  I,  243. 


232  The  Historical  Child 

preserve  the  drapery.  The  white  toga,  without  color,  toga 
pura,  was  the  ordinary  garment  worn.  Boys  wore  the  toga 
prcetexta,  which  had  a  purple  border,  and  which  was  dis- 
carded when  manhood  was  reached  at  fifteen  or  sixteen  for  the 
toga  virilis,  pura  or  libera.  The  toga  for  mourning  was  black 
and  in  later  times  dark  blue  also  was  used.  Beside  these  there 
were  other  kinds.  Only  Roman  citizens  were  allowed  to  wear 
the  toga. 

The  tunica  was  worn  indoors,  when  the  toga  was  thrown  off, 
and  also  outdoors,  when  the  toga  was  worn  over  it.  In  the 
later  times  in  cold  weather  two  or  more  tunics  were  worn. 
The  tunica  was  a  kind  of  woolen  shirt,  at  first  without  sleeves, 
then  with  short  sleeves  reaching  to  the  elbows,  and  in  the  time 
of  the  empire  long  sleeves  were  attached  to  it.  It  reached 
down  to  the  calves  and  even  to  the  ankles.  It  was  often 
fastened  to  the  waist  by  a  girdle,  which  was  used  as  a  purse 
for  holding  money. 

Another  garment  was  the  pcenula,  a  kind  of  cloak  made  of 
thick  wool  and  leather,  and  worn  over  the  toga  in  traveling 
in  bad  weather.  Another  kind  of  cloak,  worn  over  the  toga 
or  tunica,  was  the  lacuna,  which  w^as  made  of  lighter  and  more 
costly  material  and  was  worn  for  show  as  well  as  for  use.  To 
both  pasnula  and  lacuna  could  be  added  a  hood  (cucullus)  for 
further  protection  from  the  weather. 

The  women  in  the  early  times  wore  the  toga  and  the  tunica 
the  same  as  the  men.  The  tunica  continued  to  be  worn  but 
there  arose  as  distinct  apparel  for  women,  the  stola  and  the 
palla.  The  stola  was  an  oblong  garment  worn  over  the  tunica 
and  extended  to  the  feet.  It  was  open  at  the  top  on  either 
side  for  the  arms  to  go  through  and  fastened  on  both  shoulders 
with  clasps  or  brooches  (fibulce),  which  often  were  quite  costly 
articles.  A  girdle  was  drawn  around  it  at  the  waist  and  then 
it  was  pulled  up  and  allowed  to  fall  over  the  girdle  till  the 
girdle  was  covered  by  the  folds  and  then  the  lower  part  of 
the  stola  was  pulled  down  till  it  just  touched  the  ground.  At 
the  bottom  there  was  an  ornamental  border.  Sometimes  there 
were  sleeves  to  it,  which  were  open  below  and  fastened  to- 
gether with  gold  or  jeweled  buttons  or  clasps.  The  stola  was 
a  special  garment  that  was  permitted  to  be  worn  only  by  mar- 
ried women  of  unblemished  i-eputation.  "The  common  cour- 
tesans were  not  allowed  to  appear  in  the  stola,  but  were  com- 
pelled to  wear  a  sort  of  gown,  resembling  the  habit  of  the 


The  Child  in  Borne  233 

opposite  sex,  and  which  was  regarded  as  a  mark  of  infamy."  ^^ 

The  palla  was  a  kind  of  cloak  worn  out  of  doors  over  the 
stola.  It  was  somewhat  similar  to  the  toga,  as  it  was  a  square 
or  oblong  piece  of  cloth.  Like  the  toga,  too,  it  was  thrown  for- 
ward over  the  left  shoulder  and  let  fall  to  the  feet,  and  then 
drawn  over  or  under  the  right  shoulder  and  pulled  across  the 
breast  and  thrown  over  the  left  arm  or  shoulder,.  When 
necessary  to  protect  the  head,  the  palla  could  be  drawn  up 
over  it  like  the  toga. 

The  prevalent  material  of  Roman  clothing  was  always 
woolen  and  up  to  the  end  of  the  republic  the  only  materials 
used  were  wool  and  linen.  Sheep-raising  for  wool  was  one 
of  the  very  most  important  industries.  Foreign  wools,  how- 
ever, were  imported,  because  the  supply  of  native  wool  was 
not  sufficient  to  meet  the  demand  and  also  by  importing 
foreign  wool  a  variety  of  natural  colors  could  be  obtained,  as 
brown,  red,  black,  golden-brown,  reddish,  and  grayish. 
Goats'  wool  Avas  not  often  used  for  wearing  apparel,  usually 
only  for  coarse  cloaks  and  overshoes.  It  was  woven  into 
rough  and  heavy  cloths  for  tent-coverings,  blankets,  and  the 
like,  and  goats'  hair  was  used  for  making  ropes  and  cables. 

Linen  was  used  for  the  under-garments  of  both  men  and 
women  and  for  women's  belts  and  girdles  and  also  linen 
thread  was  made.  In  the  later  times  the  finer  grades  of  linen 
for  handkerchiefs,  table-cloths,  napkins,  bedding,  and  suits 
were  all  imported.  Cotton  and  cotton  fabrics  were  intro- 
duced from  the  far  East  into  Greece  and  thence  into  Rome. 
Silk  began  to  be  used  by  the  women  toward  the  end  of  the 
republic  and  by  men  under  the  empire. 

The  color  of  clothing  was  originally  white,  which  was  pre- 
scribed by  law  for  the  toga.  Poor  people,  slaves,  and  freed- 
men  had  their  clothing  of  the  natural  brown  or  black  color  of 
the  wool.  The  mourning  garments  of  the  upper  classes  were 
of  dark  color — black  or  dark  blue.  In  later  periods  the 
women  got  to  using  a  variety  of  colors,  selecting  such  as  the 
mode  directed  or  as  suited  their  particular  taste,  as  scarlet, 
violet,  purple,  yellow,  blue,  and  many  other  colors.  In 
imperial  times  the  men  adopted  a  variety  of  colors  for  their 
garments,  too.  The  wearing  of  genuine  purple,  however,  re- 
mained the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  emperors. 

In  early  times  the  spinning  and  weaving  was  done  at  home 

"Dean,  History  of  civilization,  III,  214. 


234  The  Historical  Child 

under  the  direction  of  the  mistress  of  the  house.  But  it  was 
not  long  till  the  work  of  the  home  did  not  suffice  to  supply  the 
demand  and  large  factories  (officioivce)  were  established  for 
the  weaving  of  both  woolen  and  linen  goods.  The  garments 
were  prepared  with  needle  and  scissors,  each  wealthy  house- 
hold having  several  tailors  among  its  slaves.  Before  they 
could  be  used  for  garments,  the  woolen  cloths  had  to  be  fin- 
ished by  the  fuller,  who  not  only  finished  new  cloths  but  also 
cleansed  and  restored  old  garments. 

The  Romans,  usually,  whether  indoors  or  out,  went  bare- 
headed, both  men  and  women.  In  case  of  heat  or  cold  or  rain, 
the  men  would  pull  the  upper  part  of  the  toga  up  over  the 
head  and  the  women  used  the  palla  in  the  same  way.  There 
were  times,  however,  when  they  did  wear  coverings  upon  their 
heads,  as,  at  the  sacrifices,  at  the  public  games,  at  the  Satur- 
nalia, upon  a  journey,  or  upon  a  warlike  expedition.  Also 
the  working-classes  exposed  to  the  weather  wore  a  head-cover- 
ing. These  coverings  were  the  pileus  and  the  petasus.  The 
pileus  was  a  close-fitting  felt  cap  and  the  petasus  was  a  felt 
hat  with  a  round  brim.  Sometimes  the  cucullus,  a  hood,  was 
worn  in  place  of  the  pileus.  For  ornamentation  the  women 
would  wear  a  veil,  which  was  fastened  to  the  top  of  the  head 
and  drooped  over  neck  and  back  in  graceful  folds.  They  also 
wore  the  mitra,  which  was  a  cloth  wound  round  the  head  to 
form  a  kind  of  cap.  They  also  wore  a  head-covering  in  the 
form  of  a  net  made  of  gold-thread. 

In  the  early  times  men  wore  their  hair  long  and  this  was 
continued  for  a  long  time  and  the  wearing  of  short  hair  made 
slow  progress  and  only  among  the  higher  classes.  In  the 
late  empire  the  close-cropped  hair  became  the  fashion.  Before 
the  time  of  cropped  hair  it  was  sometimes  worn  in  wavy  locks 
and  again,  by  means  of  the  curling-iron,  it  was  arranged  in 
short  curls  and  perfumed.  Also  false  hair  was  used.  The 
ancient  Romans  wore  their  beards  very'  long.  The  wearing 
the  beard  long  continued  till  the  later  years  of  the  republic 
when  it  became  the  custom  to  shave  the  face,  but  full  beards 
came  into  fashion  again  in  the  later  empire,  "The  first  hair 
cut  from  the  head  of  a  child,  and  a  youth's  first  beard,  were 
consecrated  to  the  gods;  but  the  coins  of  the  late  republican 
period  show  plainly  that  young  men  usually  wore  a  beard, 
though  carefully  trimmed  and  dressed,  and  were  seldom  clean- 
shaven before  forty, ' '  ^*    There  were  barber-shops  among  the 

"Preston  and  Dodge,  The  private  life  of  the  Komans,  99. 


The  Child  in  Borne  235 

Romans  and  they  were  the  gathering-places  of  idlers  and  the 
centers  of  male  gossip.  Among  the  furnishings  were  razors, 
tools  to  pull  out  the  beard,  scissors,  pomatums  to  remove  hair 
where  not  desired,  combs,  curling-irons,  mirrors,  towels,  etc. 

The  Vvays  of  arranging  the  hair  by  the  women  varied  in  the 
different  periods.  In  the  first  centuries  of  the  republic,  there 
seems  to  have  been  two  general  fashions.  The  hair  was 
either  parted  or  unparted  and  tlien  combed  back  in  wavy 
lines  and  gathered  together  in  a  knot  at  the  back  of  the  head, 
low  down  on  the  neck,  and  fastened  with  ribbons  or  clasps,  or 
it  was  wound  round  the  top  of  the  head  like  a  crown.  In 
another  way  the  hair  was  carried  around  the  head  in  long 
curls,  or  the  front  hair  was  plaited  and  connected  with  the 
back  hair,  etc.  These  simple  ways  of  arranging  the  hair  gave 
place  to  many  variegated  ways  and  hair-dressing  became  a 
science  and  the  women  employed  special  maid-servants  for  the 
purpose  or  had  in  their  employ  female  hairdressers.  In  one 
fashion  there  was  a  tower-like  headdress,  the  natural  hair 
being  helped  out  with  artificial  hair  or  with  wigs.  The  hair 
was  frizzled  and  curled  and  perfumed  and  dyed.  It  was 
kept  in  place  by  means  of  ribbons  and  pins  and  hair-pins  of 
metal  or  ivory  and  adorned  with  gold  ornaments  and  pearls 
and  jewels.  The  hair  was  sometimes  gracefully  adorned  with 
wreaths  of  flowers  or  of  branches  with  leaves  and  blossoms. 

The  Romans  wore  shoes  {calcei)  and  sandals  (sandalia). 
There  were  several  kinds  of  shoes  worn,  as  every  Roman 
order  and  every  tribe  or  gens  had  a  distinctive  kind  of  shoe. 
The  sutor,  or  shoemaker,  had  a  particularly  respectable  calling 
at  Rome.  The  pero  was  for  wet  and  snowy  weather;  it  was 
made  of  raw  hide  and  it  was  similar  to  a  boot,  reaching  up  to 
the  middle  of  the  leg.  The  calceus  senatorius  was  of  black 
leather  with  four  straps.  The  calceus  midleus  was  made  of 
red  leather,  with  a  high  heel,  and  with  straps  to  fasten  it 
about  the  ankle.  It  had  on  its  front  a  crescent-shaped  piece 
of  ivory,  the  lunula,  which  was  of  very  ancient  origin,  and, 
like  the  hulla,  may,  perhaps,  have  had  the  force  of  a  charm. 
The  caliga  was  worn  by  the  soldiers,  which  was  a  kind  of 
boot,  reaching  to  the  middle  of  the  leg,  and  the  sole  was  of 
wood  and  stuck  full  of  nails.  There  seemed  to  have  been 
worn,  too,  a  kind  of  sock  or  stocking  that  reached  to  the 
middle  of  the  leg  and  tied  with  laces  from  the  instep  to  the 
calf.  The  ladies  of  the  upper  classes,  for  outdoors  wore  shoes 
made   of  fine  leather  and  richly  embroidered  in   silk  and 


236  The  Historical  Child 

gold.  In  the  house  both  men  and  women  wore  sandals 
{solecE).  The  sandals  and  shoes  were  tied  on  with  straps, 
which  were  wound  round  the  foot  and  the  leg  upward  from 
the  ankle. 

The  Roman  ladies  wore  many  different  kinds  of  ornaments, 
made  of  precious  metals,  ivory,  jewels,  and  pearls.  They 
wore  earrings,  a  very  common  form  being  pearls  and  jewels 
attached  to  hooks  of  gold  and  then  fastened  to  the  ears. 
There  were  hair-pins  of  metal  and  ivory,  made  in  various 
forms,  some  of  which  contained  eyes  for  the  fastening  of 
strings  of  pearls.  They  had  necklaces  of  gold  with  jewels  and 
pearls  attached  to  them.  Bracelets,  made  in  the  form  of 
snakes,  simple  ribbons,  plaited  gold  threads,  and  other  styles, 
were  worn  at  the  wrist  or  above  the  elbow,  with  a  sleeveless 
tunic.  They  had  rings  adorned  with  jewels  and  cameos. 
They  wore  chains  of  gold  around  the  neck,  sometimes  five  or 
six  feet  in  length.  They  fastened  their  girdles  and  other  parts 
of  the  dress  with  buckles  and  brooches,  made  of  silver  and 
gold  and  frequently  studded  with  jewels  and  cameos.  Some 
of  these  ornaments  were  also  worn  by  the  men,  as,  rings  and 
bracelets.  All  the  principal  precious  stones,  diamonds,  rubies, 
emeralds,  opals,  were  known  to  the  Romans.  They  prized  the 
pearl  above  all  other  gems  and  often  paid  great  prices  for 
them.  "Julius  Ciesar  is  said  to  have  given  to  Servilia,  the 
mother  of  Marcus  Brutus,  a  solitaire  pearl  for  which  he  paid 
six  million  sesterces  ($262,500),  while  Caligula  received  with 
his  wife,  Lollia  Paulina  a  complete  parure  of  pearls  and  em- 
eralds, which  was  an  heirloom  in  her  family ;  a  part  of  the 
spoils  taken  in  Eastern  war  by  her  grandfather,  Marcus  Lol- 
lius,  in  the  year  2  b.  c,  and  valued  at  forty  million  sesterces 
($2,180,000)."  1^ 

"About  the  mysteries  of  the  toilette  of  the  Roman  ladies, 
mercilessly  laid  bare  by  the  authors  of  imperial  times,  we  shall 
say  little.  Great  care  was  particularly  bestowed  on  the 
complexion,  and  on  the  artificial  reproduction  of  other  channs, 
lost  too  soon  in  the  exciting  atmosphere  of  imperial  court-life. 
During  the  night  a  mask  (tectorium)  of  dough  and  ass's  milk 
was  laid  on  the  face,  to  preserve  the  complexion ;  this  mask 
was  an  invention  of  Poppjea,  the  wife  of  Nero,  hence  its  name 
Poppceana.  Another  mask,  composed  of  rice  and  bean-flour, 
served  to  remove  the  wrinkles  from  the  face.  It  was  washed 
off  in  the  morning  with  tepid  ass's  milk  and  the  face  after- 
"  Preston  and  Dodge,  The  private  life  of  the  Eomans,  104. 


The  Child  in  Rome  237 

wards  bathed  in  fresh  ass's  milk  several  times  in  the  course 
of  the  day.  Poppasa  was,  for  the  purpose,  always  accompanied 
in  her  travels  by  herds  of  she-asses.  The  two  chief  paints 
used  for  the  face  were  a  white  {creta  cerussa)  and  a  red  sub- 
stance {fucus  minium  purpurissiim) ,  moistened  with  spittle. 
Brows  and  eyelashes  were  dyed  black,  or  painted  over ;  even 
the  veins  on  the  temples  were  masked  with  lines  of  a  tender 
blue  color.  Many  different  pastes  and  powders  were  used  to 
preserve  and  clean  the  teeth.  Artificial  teeth  made  of  ivory 
and  fastened  with  gold  thread  were  known  to  the  Romans 
at  the  time  when  the  laws  of  the  twelve  tablets  were  made, 
one  of  which  laws  prohibited  the  deposition  of  gold  in  the 
graves  of  the  dead,  excepting  the  material  required  for  the 
fastening  of  false  teeth. ' '  ^*^ 

As  an  aid  in  the  preparation  of  the  toilet  and  the  like,  the 
Romans  had  mirrors.  These  were  not  made  of  glass  but  of 
polished  metal.  They  were  square  or  round  and  of  various 
sizes,  some  being  equal  in  size  to  a  grown-up  person.  Some 
of  the  mirrors  had  handles  for  holding  with  the  hand,  some 
were  made  so  as  to  hang  on  the  M^all,  and  others  could  be 
placed  upright. 

Food.  The  Romans  of  the  early  times  had  a  simple  fare, 
living  chiefly  on  pottage,  or  bread  and  pot-herbs.  They  sat 
at  their  meals,  using  a  long  table.  As  the  nation  grew  and 
wealth  increased  and  they  came  in  contact  with  older  nations, 
they  gave  up  this  simple  life  and  entered  among  the  most 
luxurious  nations  in  their  manner  of  living. 

The  Romans  had  three  meals  a  day.  The  first  meal  was  in 
the  morning,  the  ientaculum,  or  breakfast,  which  was  simple, 
consisting  of  bread  flavored  with  salt  or  dipped  in  wine,  olives, 
grapes,  eggs,  and  cheese.  The  second  meal  was  at  midday,  the 
cena,  or  dinner,  which  with  the  country  people  was  the  prin- 
cipal meal.  In  the  city  this  midday  meal  was  a  lunch,  the 
prandium,,  while  the  cena,  dinner,  was  taken  later  in  the  day, 
toward  evening,  and  often  became  quite  an  elaborate  affair. 
There  was  sometimes  a  fourth  meal,  comissatio,  served  late 
at  night,  which  really  was  but  little  more  than  a  drinking- 
bout. 

The  meals  were  usually  served  in  the  triclinium;  or  dining- 
room.  In  this  was  a  square  dining-table,  having  on  three  sides 
one-armed  couches,  the  remaiping  side  being  left  open  for 
serving.     Each  of  these  couches  had  room  for  three  persons, 

"  Guhl  and  Koner,  The  life  of  the  Greeks  and  Eomans,  500, 


238  The  Historical  Child 

who  reclined  upon  the  left  arm,  with  the  feet  outward.  About 
the  end  of  the  republic,  round  tables  came  into  use,  with  semi- 
circular couches.  Some  of  these  tables  were  quite  valuable, 
being  made  of  rare  imported  woods.  The  guests  used  nap- 
kins, which  they  might  have  brought  themselves  or  were  pro- 
vided by  the  host.  In  later  times  table-cloths  came  into  use. 
The  principal  ornament  on  the  table  was  the  saliniwi,  or  salt- 
cellar, as  salt  was  used  not  only  for  seasoning,  but  also  for 
sacrifices,  and  the  salinum  also  held  the  sacrificial  cakes.  The 
chief  implements  for  eating  were  two  kinds  of  spoons,  the 
ligula,  shaped  very  much  like  the  table  spoon  of  the  present, 
and  the  cochlear,  which  had  a  small  circular  bowl,  flat  or 
slightly  hollowed,  with  a  pointed  handle.  Knives  and  forks 
seem  to  have  come  into  use  during  the  later  times  of  the 
empire. 

The  chief  dish  of  the  poorer  classes  was  porridge,  made  of 
a  farinaceous  substance  and  which  served  them  as  bread. 
They  had  such  vegetables  as  the  cabbage,  turnip,  radish,  leek, 
garlic,  onion,  cucumber,  and  pumpkin.  Meat  was  rarely  eaten, 
perhaps  only  on  festival  occasions.  The  market  afforded  all 
kinds  of  foods.  Among  the  animals  were  the  rabbit,  pheas- 
ant, guinea-fowl,  common  poultiy,  peacock,  kid,  pig,  and 
boar ;  there  were  various  kinds  of  fish  and  oysters  and  snails ; 
beside  the  plants  mentioned  above  were  rue,  lettuce,  cress, 
mallow,  and  sorrell.  It  would  seem  that  they  had  quite  a 
number  of  different  kinds  of  grain ;  among  the  fruits  were  the 
apple,  pear,  plum,  cherry,  quince,  peach,  pomegranate,  fig, 
olive,  and  grape ;  there  were  lemons  and  oranges  and  nuts  of 
various  kinds. 

Wine  was  the  only  drink  of  an  intoxicating  nature  that  the 
Romans  had.  It  was  customary  to  mix  the  wine  with  water, 
and  to  drink  the  wine  without  putting  water  into  it  was  con- 
sidered a  sign  of  intemperance.  For  a  number  of  years  the 
water-supply  was  such  as  could  be  obtained  from  the  Tiber, 
wells,  and  natural  springs,  and  it  was  not  till  the  time  of  the 
republic  that  the  water  was  brought  from  outside  of  Rome,  for 
which  means  aqueducts  were  built  and  which  continued  to  be 
built  until  there  was  an  abundant  supply  of  water. 

Child  and  Parent.  The  Romans  practiced  the  exposure  of 
infants  as.  in  Greece.  This  was  begun  in  the  early  times  and 
carried  down  into  the  later  times.  The  children  so  exposed 
were  usually  feeble  or  deformed,  but  the  father  had  the  power 
to  use  it  on  any  child  and  this  was  sometimes  done  when  the 


The  Child  in  Rome  239 

father  considered  the  child  to  be  illegitimate.  The  new-born 
child  was  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  father  and  it  was  his  duty  to 
take  the  child  up  into  his  arms  and  declare  it  to  be  his  child 
and  that  he  would  rear  it  and  support  it.  In  ease  the  father 
did  not  so  claim  it,  the  child  was  carried  away  and  placed  at 
some  cross-roads,  where  it  would  die  unless  taken  up  by  a 
slave-merchant  to  rear  it  to  sell. 

The  relation  which  existed  between  the  father  and  the  child 
was  known  as  the  patria  potestas.  This  power  of  the  father 
was  very  great  in  early  times.  He  could  sell  his  children,  dis- 
inherit them,  select  a  wife  for  a  son  or  a  husband  for  a  daugh- 
ter, and  he  even  had  the  power  to  put  them  to  death.  This 
power  ceased  only  at  death  or  if  the  father  lost  his  rights  of 
Roman  citizenship.  The  father  himself  could  emancipate  his 
son.  Also  this  power  over  the  son  ceased  should  he  become  a 
fiam&n,  or  priest,  and  it  ceased  over  the  daughter  if  she  mar- 
ried or  took  the.  vestal  vows. 

Naanes.  The  Romans  had  three  names:  These  were  the 
prcBn&men,  the  individual's  own  first  name;  the  nomen, 
the  name  of  the  ge.ns  or  family  to  which  he  belonged ;  and  the 
cognomen,  or  surname,  which  distinguished  the  particular 
branch  or  division  of  the  tribe  from  which  he  sprung.  Thus 
in  the  name  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero,  Marcus  was  the  prasnomen, 
TuUius  the  nomen,  designating  the  Tullian  family,  and  Cicero, 
the  cognomen,  showing  that  he  was  from  the  Cicerones  branch 
of  the  tribe. 

The  boys  received  the  nomen,  family  name,  on  the  ninth  day 
after  birth  and  girls  on  the  eighth  day.  On  such  day  the 
ceremony  of  purification  took  place,  which  was  by  sprinkling 
with  a  branch  of  olive  or  laurel  dipped  in  water,  the  burning 
of  incense,  and  the  offering  of  sacrifice.  The  boy  was  given 
his  pr^enomen  when  he  put  on  the  toga  virilis  at  sixteen  or 
seventeen  and  the  girl  when  she  was  married.  The  wife  at 
marriage  took  the  nomen  of  her  husband's  family,  but  this 
was  not  often  a  change  from  her  own  family  as  usually  mar- 
riages were  between  members  of  the  same  gens.  In  later 
times,  when  marriage  did  not  mean  so  much,  and  divorces 
became  frequent,  the  wife  did  not  take  her  husband's  nomen 
but  she  was  known  by  the  nomen  of  her  father's  gens. 

Care  and  Treatment  of  Children.  The  birth  of  a  son  was 
a  happy  day  in  a  Roman  household  and  the  door  of  the  house 
was  decorated  with  flowers  and  green  branches.  The  boy's 
ninth  day  after  birth  and  the  girl's  eighth  day  was  the  day 


240  The  Historical  Child 

of  purification,  the  lustratio.  A  branch  of  laurel  or  olive  was 
dipped  into  water  and  used  to  sprinkle  the  child,  incense  was 
burned,  a  sacrifice  was  made  upon  the  family  altar  for  the 
child's  welfare,  and  he  was  carried  to  one  or  more  of  the 
temples  and  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  gods.  Also, 
as  stated  above,  the  child's  name  was  bestowed  upon  him  at 
this  time.  Usually  a  private  record  was  made  of  the  time  of 
the  lustratio,  which  was  sometimes  offered  in  cases  of  identi- 
fication. Under  Marcus  Aurelius  there  was  begun  a  public 
registry  of  births,  as  it  was  decreed  that  within  thirty  days 
after  birth  the  name  of  each  child,  born  free  at  Eome,  should 
be  placed  in  the  public  records  in  the  archives  of  the  treasury 
in  the  temple  of  Saturn,  The  birthday  was  religiously  ob- 
served by  every  Roman,  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low,  at  which 
time  the  members  of  his  family  were  brought  together  and 
offerings  were  made  to  the  household  gods  and  a  festive  time 
made  of  the  day.  Many  mothers  turned  over  their  children  to 
the  care  of  nurses  and  the  wealthy  employed  wet-nurses. 
Each  Roman  child  wore  round  his  neck  a  hulJa,  which  was  a 
small  locket  of  gold  or  some  other  metal,  sometimes  of  leather, 
usually  heart-shaped,  or  circular,  and  attached  to  a  ribbon  or 
chain.  This  was  a  charm  against  the  evil  eye.  The  boy  wore 
his  bulla  till  he  put  on  the  toga  virilis  at  manhood  and  a  girl 
wore  hers  till  her  marriage. 

"Identical  with  modern  times  were  the  anxious  care  of 
mothers,  relatives,  and  nurses,  the  words  of  endearment  (such 
as  birdie,  little  dove,  little  crow,  little  mother,  little  lady), 
and  the  lisping  childish  language  and  the  lullabies  ('sleep,  my 
child,  or  suck'),  rattles  and  other  means  of  soothing  (such  as 
beating  the  stone  that  had  hit  the  child),  and  the  many  super- 
stitions, at  all  ages:  such  as  binding  on  teeth  of  horses  and 
boars  to  alleviate  the  teething,  and  old  wives'  simples  and 
amulets  against  the  evil  eye.  As  a  preservative  against  the 
strigoB,  or  vampires,  garlic  was  wrapt  up  in  the  swaddling- 
clothes  and  hawthorn  planted  in  the  windows.  A  mother, 
who  was  passing  a  temple  of  Venus,  would  mumble  a  prayer 
for  her  daughter  s  beauty  and  make  a  vow.  The  figure  of  the 
girk  was  made  artificially  perfect.  They  wore  tight  stays 
from  early  childhood,  so  as  to  raise  the  hips  into  relief,  and 
nurses'  carelessness  often  produced  rounded  backs  or  unequal 
shoulders."  ^^ 

Citizenship.     At  seventeen  years  of  age  the  Roman  boy  be- 

"  Friedlander,  Roman  life  and  manners,  I,  228, 


The  Child  in  Rome  241 

came  liable  for  military  duty.  In  earlier  times  this  was  the 
age  at  which  he  assumed  the  toga  virilis.  In  the  later  times 
the  age  for  taking  the  virile  robe  varied,  usually  taking  place 
between  the  fourteenth  and  seventeenth  years,  but  there  were 
cases  where  boys  were  invested  with  the  toga  virilis  as  early 
as  twelve  and  where  it  was  withheld  until  nineteen.  The 
time  of  year  for  this  ceremony  was  not  fixed,  although  a  favor- 
ite date  was  at  the  time  of  the  Liberalia,  or  feast  of  Bacchus, 
which  occurred  on  March  17th. 

*'To  make  the  gods  propitious,  the  youth  has  passed  the 
last  night  of  his  infancy  covered,  like  a  bride  on  the  eve  of  her 
nuptials,  with  a  white  material  and  a  saffron-colored  sort  of 
net-work.  Is  not  this  a  betrothal  which  is  novv^  to  be  com- 
pleted: the  indissoluble  union  of  the  new  citizen  to  the 
city  ? "  ^^  The  bulla  was  removed  from  the  boy 's  neck  and  the 
toga  prEetexta  taken  off  him  and  both  were  consecrated  to  the 
lares,  a  sacrifice  was  made,  and  then  the  boy  was  invested  with 
the  toga  virilis.  Then  the  boy  was  conducted  to  the  Forum 
by  his  father  or  guardian,  accompanied  by  relatives  and 
friends,  and  formally  presented  to  the  public.  He  was,  prob- 
ably, also  taken  to  the  tahiilariuni  under  the  Capitol  and  his 
name  enrolled  among  the  list  of  full  citizens. 

This  was  a  very  important  event  in  the  life  of  the  boy, 
as  it  freed  him  from  the  control  of  others,  as  he  became  by 
law  a  man,  capable  of  looking  after  his  own  affairs  and  of 
holding  property.  After  this  he  entered  upon  the  affairs  of 
life.  If  he  v/as  of  the  middle  or  lower  classes,  he  entered 
directly  into  business  or  work ;  if  of  the  upper  class,  he  began 
to  prepare  for  public  life  or  the  army. 

Inheritance.  Every  citizen  had  the  right  to  make  a  will  and 
to  leave  his  property  to  the  ones  he  wished  to  receive  it. 
There  were  two  kinds  of  wills  recognized,  the  one  made  in  civil 
life  before  the  public  assembly,  and  the  other  was  in  military 
life,  made  when  an  army  was  drawn  up  ready  for  battle  and 
while  the  auspices  were  being  taken. 

Instead  of  a  written  will  there  might  be  an  oral  declaration, 
which  had  to  be  made  before  the  proper  authorities  and  wit- 
nesses and  recorded  in  the  city  registers.  If  the  will  of  the 
soldier  dying  in  battle  was  unfinished,  it  was  valid  if  there 
was  no  doubt  as  to  his  intentions.  Those  by  law  who  could  not 
make  a  wiU,  or  whose  will  was  invalid,  were  persons  under  the 
power  of  another,  minors,  the  insane,  people  not  capable  of 

"Duruy,  History  of  Eome,  V,  242. 


242  The  Historical  Child 

managing  their  own  affairs,  the  civilly  dead,  and  the  ban- 
ished. Where  there  was  no  will,  the  law  provided  an  order 
of  inheritance,  the  children  taking  precedence.  In  case  there 
was  neither  will  nor  legal  heir,  the  estate  went  into  the  public 
treasury. 

Adoption.  It  was  a  sacred  duty  for  a  Roman  family  to 
preserve  its  name,  its  domestic  sacrifices,  and  its  traditions. 
These  were  transmitted  from  one  generation  to  the  next,  so  in 
case  there  was  no  son,  the  head  of  the  family  was  authorized 
by  law  to  adopt  a  son.  There  were  three  kinds  of  adoption. 
The  first  was  adoption  properly  so-called;  the  second  was 
the  arrogatio,  adrogation;  and  the  third  was  adoption  made 
by  will  or  testament,  to  be  confirmed  by  the  proper  authorities 
after  the  death  of  the  testator. 

There  were  three  conditions  necessary  to  adoption.  The 
first  requirement  was  that  there  were  no  sons  in  the  family, 
nor  hopes  of  any,  and  that  the  father  should  be  about  eighteen 
years  older  than  the  one  to  be  adopted  as  a  son;  the  second 
condition  was  that  the  honor,  religion,  domestic  worship,  or 
sacrifices  of  the  two  families,  should  not  in  any  way  be  in- 
jured; and  the  third,  that  there  should  be  no  fraud  or  col- 
lusion. 

Adoption  proper  was  for  minors.  The  two  fathers,  the 
natural  and  the  adoptive,  arranged  the  matter  between  them 
and  then,  with  the  child,  went  before  the  proper  authorities 
and  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  was  legally  carried  out.  The 
adopted  son  took  the  rank  and  the  name  of  the  family  into 
which  he  entered,  he  was  introduced  to  the  domestic  sacrifices, 
and  he  became  a  full  heir.  If  there  was  a  daughter  in  the 
family,  she  became  his  sister  and  he  could  not  marry  her. 

Adrogation  was  the  form  of  adoption  used  with  citizens  who 
were  their  own  masters.  This  required  the  consent  of  the 
people  assembled  for  the  purpose.  Under  this  act  a  citizen 
with  his  property  and  all  persons  subjected  to  him  passed 
into   another's  power. 

"These  adoptions  finally  led  to  abuse.  The  patrician,  to 
obtain  the  tribuneship,  would  be  adopted  by  some  plebeian, 
and  those  who  were  without  children,  that  they  might  enjoy 
office  to  which  only  fathers  of  families  could  be  elected, 
adopted  childreia,  whom,  after  obtaining  the  offices,  they 
emancipated.  This  finally  required,  to  remedy  it,  a  decree  of 
the  senate  in  the  reign  of  Nero."  ^^ 

*'  Dean,  History  of  civilization,  III,  250. 


The  Child  in  Rome  243 

Sickness  and  Death.  Throughout  the  time  of  Rome,  medi- 
cine was  largely  in  the  hands  of  slaves  and  freedmen.  Those 
engaged  in  the  medical  practice  were  mostly  Greeks  and 
orientals,  especially  Egj^ptians.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the  re- 
public, they  treated  their  patients  according  to  certain  old 
prescriptions  and  nostrums.  In  the  later  days  of  the  republic, 
the  practice  of  medicine  began  to  take  on  more  the  form  of  a 
profession  and  later  the  profession  became  to  be  divided  into 
physicians,  surgeons,  and  oculists,  and  also  there  were  den- 
tists, ear  specialists,  and  the  like.  There  were,  too,  women 
physicians  and  midwives.  As  those  engaged  in  medicine  were 
not  required  to  be  examined  and  were  not  held  by  law  to  much 
responsibility,  quackery  prevailed.  The  practice  of  medicine 
was  quite  remunerative  and  the  physicians  who  were  success- 
ful made  large  salaries. 

Among  the  Romans  the  duties  to  the  dead  were  carefully 
attended  to.  They  believed  that  the  souls  of  those  who  had 
not  received  the  proper  honors  accorded  to  the  dead  were  con- 
demned to  wander  for  a  long  number  of  years  along  the  banks 
of  the  Styx  before  they  were  permitted  to  cross  over  into  the 
realms  of  the  dead.  The  dying  person  was  surrounded  by  his 
relatives  and  when  he  had  breathed  his  last  his  eyes  and 
mouth  were  closed  by  the  nearest  relative  present  and  the 
conclamatio  was  made,  all  calling  out  loudly  three  times  to 
the  deceased  as  though  he  might  be  in  a  trance.  Upon  his  not 
awakening,  the  relatives  and  friends  retired  and  left  the  body 
to  the  professional  undertaker. 

The  body  was  washed,  anointed,  and  clothed,  the  coin  to 
pay  Charon,  the  ferryman  of  the  Styx,  was  placed  between 
the  teeth,  and  then  the  corpse  was  laid  upon  a  couch  in  the 
atrium,  with  feet  turned  toward  the  entrance  door.  Flowers 
were  placed  about  the  couch  and  the  decorations  and  crowns, 
if  any,  of  the  deceased  were  displayed  about  the  body.  To 
show  that  the  house  was  in  mourning,  branches  of  cypress 
or  pine  were  hung  in  front.  The  body  lay  in  state  for  seven 
days  for  visitations  of  kindred  and  friends. 

The  day  of  the  funeral  having  arrived,  the  funeral  proces- 
sion took  place.  In  ancient  times  all  funerals  were  in  the 
night  time,  but  later  they  were  held  in  the  day  time,  yet  still 
later  the  procession  went  with  lighted  torches. 

The  order  of  the  procession  was  arranged  by  the  desigrmtor, 
master  of  ceremonies,  and  it  closely  resembled  a  triumphal 
procession.    At  the  head  marched  the  musicians,  which  might 


244  The  Historical  Child 

have  been  a  single  fiute-player  or  a  band  of  musicians  with 
trumpets  and  pipes  and  horns;  then  came  the  mourning- 
women,  hired  for  the  occasion ;  next  came  dancers  and  mimes, 
one  of  whom  was  dressed  up  to  resemble  the  deceased,  and 
who  acted  out  his  character,  imitating  his  style  of  speaking, 
his  manner,  and  exaggerating  his  peculiarities.  Following 
these  came  professional  actors  dressed  in  the  garbs  of  the 
ancestors  of  the  deceased  and  wearing  wax  masks  represent- 
ing their  features,  who  strove  to  imitate  them  in  speech  and 
actions.  Then  were  displayed  the  crowns  and  rewards  the 
deceased  had  been  honored  with  and  the  spoils  and  standards 
he  had  taken  in  war.  Then  came  the  torch-bearers  and  lictors, 
with  lowered  faces,  followed  by  the  nearest  relatives  or  friends 
or  slaves  set  free  by  the  will,  bearing  upon  a  lofty  bier  the 
corpse  extended  and  gxposed  in  rich  garments.  Then  the 
family  of  the  deceased  followed,  the  sons  with  veiled  faces  and 
the  daughters  with  heads  uncovered  and  hair  loosened.  Last 
came  the  freedmen,  slaves,  clients,  friends,  and  the  general 
public. 

There  were  demonstrations  of  grief  displayed  by  the  mourn- 
ers, the  nearest  relatives  tearing  their  clothing,  pulling  out 
their  hair,  and  covering  their  heads  with  dust,  the  women 
smiting  their  breasts,  scratching  their  faces,  tearing  their  hair, 
and  the  like.' 

If  there  was  to  be  a  funeral  oration,  the  procession  went 
to  the  forum,  the  bier  being  set  down  in  front  of  the  rostrum 
and  surrounded  by  the  wearers  of  the  ancestral  masks.  A  near 
relative,  usually,  mounted  the  tribune  and  delivered  a  eulogy 
upon  the  deceased  and  his  ancestors.  An  informal  eulogy 
might  be  given  at  the  place  of  interment,  in  which  case  the 
procession  did  not  stop  at  the  forum.  At  the  close  of  the 
oration  the  procession  passed  on.  The  burial  place  might 
have  been  public,  along  some  one  of  the  great  highways  leading 
out  of  Rome,  or  it  might  have  been  private,  upon  the  subur- 
ban estate  of  the  deceased.  The  vestal  virgins  had  the  right 
of  burial  within  the  city  itself.  The  body  was  placed  in  the 
tomb,  those  present  were  then  sprinkled,  in  order  to  purify 
them,  three  times  with  a  branch  of  olive  or  laurel  dipped  in 
pure  water,  and  then  all  returned  from  the  funeral. 

The  above  description  refers  to  the  funeral  of  the  wealthy 
and  illustrious.  The  bodies  of  the  middle  classes  were  placed 
in  the  columbaria,  which  were  built  up  or  cut  out  of  rock, 
being  super-imposed  niches.    These  were  often  built  by  joint- 


The  Child  in  Rome  245 

stock  companies  who  would  keep  them  in  order,  letting  out  the 
niches  as  they  were  wanted.  The  poor  were  given  a  place  in 
the  common  burial-ground,  their  bodies  being  carried  out  at 
night  by  the  vespillones,  carriers  of  corpses.  Persons  killed 
by  lightning  were  buried  at  the  place  they  fell,  which  was  en- 
closed with  a  wall.  The  bodies  of  malefactors  were  left  un- 
buried,  expose^a  to  the  elements  and  to  the  birds  and  the 
beasts.  p. 

The  earliex;T,/^  ^mans  interred  their  dead.  Burning  the  body 
gradually  cai  ^  into  practice  and  became  general  near  the 
close  of  the  republic  and  almost  universal  under  the  empire. 
As  Christianity  grew,  cremation  gradually  fell  into  disuse 
and  interment  became  the  practice. 

In  one  way  of  cremation,  perhaps  the  earlier  form,  a  grave 
about  three  and  a  half  feet  deep  was  made  and  filled  with  fuel. 
The  body  was  placed  on  the  fuel  and  as  it  burned  the  bones 
and  ashes  of  the  body  fell  into  the  pit  with  the  coal  and  ashes 
of  the  fuel.  The  remains  of  the  body  were  gathered  up  and 
put  into  an  urn  which  was  set  up  in  the  grave  and  the  dirt 
heaped  around  so  as  to  form  a  mound  and  then  a  wall  was 
built  around  the  place. 

In  another  way,  a  funeral  pile,  made  of  wood  and  in  the 
form  of  an  altar,  was  built  up  outside  the  city  and  near  the 
family  burial  place.  The  eyes  of  the  corpse  were  opened  and 
it  was  wrapped  in  a  shroud  and  laid  upon  the  pile.  The  near- 
est relative  impressed  a  last  kiss  upon  the  lips  of  the  deceased 
and  then  with  a  burning  torch  and  head  averted  set  fire  to  the 
pile,  the  others  present  raising  a  coiiclamatio.  While  the  pile 
was  burning  there  was  thrown  upon  it  incense,  perfumes, 
clothing,  ornaments,  weapons,  and  other  things,  as  last  pres- 
ents to  the  deceased.  "When  the  body  was  consumed,  the  fire 
was  extinguished  with  wine.  The  bones  and  ashes  of  the  body 
were  collected,  dried,  sprinkled  with  perfumes,  and  put  into 
an  urn,  which  was  placed  in  a  tomb.  The  last  farewell  was 
spoken,  those  present  were  purified  with  a  sprinkling  of  pure 
water,  and  then  all  departed. 

Relatives  and  friends  came  together  the  day  after  the  fu- 
neral and  partook  of  the  funeral  feast.  If  the  deceased  had 
been  a  great  or  wealthy  man,  scenic  games  were  given  and 
raw  meat  distributed  among  the  people.  The  mourning  con- 
tinued for  ten  daj^s,  during  which  time  none  of  the  relatives 
could  be  summoned  to  a  court  of  justice.  On  the  ninth  day  a 
banquet  was  held,  bringing  the  whole  family  together  again, 


246  The  Historical  Child 

and  on  the  tenth  day  the  house  was  purified  and  the  funeral 
ceremonies  ended. 

"The  purification  of  the  house  ended  the  funeral  cere- 
monies, but  the  'paternal  Manes'  had  three  festivals  which 
brought  together  again  families :  in  March,  the  three  nights  of 
the  Lemuralia,  to  appease  the  Manes  whom  forgetfulness 
might  irritate;  in  February,  the  Parentalia,  '  rhe  day  of  the 
dear  kindred,'  which  Ovid  calls  also  the  .^^.tival  of  the 
Caristies,  and  in  the  summer,  that  of  roses,'!  osalia,  which 
were  then  scattered  around  the  tomb.  On  this  day  all  the 
relations  were  united  at  the  same  table,  sodas  dapes,  in  order 
that  the  festival  might  lead  to  forgetfulness  of  quarrels :  '  This 
is  the  time,'  says  the  poet,  'when  concord  takes  pleasure  in 
descending  among  us.'  "  ^° 

Industries.  Agriculture  was  the  most  important  indus- 
try of  the  early  Eomans.  The  farms  were  small  and  many  of 
the  leading  citizens  followed  the  calling  of  farming.  Later 
there  arose  large  landed  estates,  which  greatly  changed  the 
manner  of  farming.  The  proprietors  did  not  work  themselves 
and  most  of  the  work  M'as  done  by  slaves.  Large  tracts  of 
land  were  used  for  parks  and  pleasure  grounds  and  others 
were  kept  in  pasturage.  Thus  agriculture  decreased  or 
changed  and  as  the  population  grew  the  people  of  Eome  were 
no  longer  able  to  supply  their  own  food  and  food-stuffs  were 
imported  from  other  countries.  The  time  came  when  im- 
mense supplies  of  grain  were  brought  in  by  the  government 
and  distributed  free  among  the  people  or  sold  at  a  nominal 
price. 

On  a  great  estate  the  dwelling  of  the  master,  the  villa 
proper,  stood  apart  from  the  other  buildings,  which  were  built 
around  a  court-yard  and  all  were  enclosed  with  only  one  en- 
trance which  was  guarded  by  a  porter  with  a  fierce  watch-dog. 
The  slaves  that  could  be  trusted  worked  out  in  the  fields  and 
the  others  were  kept  within  the  enclosure,  often  in  under- 
ground chambers,  and  did  indoor  work.  A  great  deal  of  the 
farm  work  was  done  by  hand  and  for  which  they  had  a  number 
of  implements,  such  as  spades,  mattocks,  rakes,  hoes,  and 
forks.  They  had  different  kinds  of  plows  to  suit  the  nature 
of  the  soil.     They  usually  used  oxen  for  plowing. 

The  Romans  understood  about  fertilizing  and  drainage  and 
rotation  of  crops.  It  seems  they  had  many  different  kinds  of 
grain  and  practiced  both  fall  and  spring  sowing.     Next  in 

"Duruy,  History  of  Eome,  V,  285. 


The  Child  in  Rome  247 

importance  to  the  grains  were  various  kinds  of  pulse,  the 
most  useful  being  the  faba,  some  variety  of  bean.  They  raised 
turnips  as  food  for  cattle  and  sheep. 

Among  the  animals  raised  on  the  farms  were  cattle,  bred 
mostly  for  draught  rather  than  for  beef;  horses  and  mules, 
race-horses  commanding  the  highest  prices;  sheep  and  goats 
and  hogs.  Poultry-raising  was  quite  important.  Doves  and 
thrushes  and  peacocks  were  raised  and  for  which  there  was 
quite  a  demand.  Since  honey  took  the  place  of  sugar,  great 
attention  was  given  to  bee-culture. 

Two  of  the  greatest  industries  were  the  raising  of  grapes 
for  wine  and  olives  for  oil.  Market-gardening  employed  quite 
a  large  number  and  it  was  quite  profitable,  especially  near 
cities  and  large  towns.  There  were  various  kinds  of  fruit- 
trees  and  grafting  was  a  common  practice.  Beside  fruit-trees 
other  trees  were  raised,  in  particular  trees  for  shade  and 
ornament. 

"In  considering  the  Roman  farmer's  year  as  a  whole,  we 
find  that  he  computed  rainy  days  and  festivals  at  forty-five 
and  reckoned  on  thirty  days  after  the  sowing  when  there  was 
no  field  labor  to  be  done.  But  on  these  thirty  days,  and  on 
the  stormy  ones,  there  were  ropes  to  make,  baskets  to  weave, 
and  other  home-made  utensils  to  prepare ;  while  all  the  other 
instruments  of  the  husbandman — his  '  mute  servants, '  as  Verro 
calls  them — had  to  be  repaired  and  thoroughly  cleaned.  Even 
on  feast-days  certain  kinds  of  work  were  allowed,  such  as  the 
cleaning  of  drains  and  the  mending  of  highways,  so  that  only 
the  December  Saturnalia  seem  to  have  afforded  a  complete 
holiday  to  the  slaves. 

"On  New  Year's  day,  a  little  work  of  every  kind  was  done 
for  good  luck;  but  then  followed  a  time  of  complete  relaxa- 
tion. In  the  latter  half  of  January,  the  ground  was  cleared  of 
brambles,  and  the  trimming  of  the  vineyards  completed  ;  while 
the  autumn-sown  grain  and  the  beansj  if  they  were  sufficiently 
grown,  were  hoed  for  the  first  time.  Early  trees  were  now 
grafted,  and  the  stock  was  planted.  Vineyards  were  also  cul- 
tivated, and  young  orchards  set  out,  grass  sown  and  ground 
broken,  fields  manured  and  osier-beds  renewed.  Vine-sets 
were  also  transplanted,  if  needful  and  the  late  fruit  trees 
grafted. 

' '  In  March,  the  vegetable  garden  was  prepared,  the  autumn 
grains  received  their  second  hoeing,  and  the  spring  grains 
were  sown.    In  April,  came  weeding,  sheep-washing,  the  set- 


248  The  Historical  Child 

ting  out  of  new  vineyards,  the  trimming  of  old  vines,  and  the 
olive-grafting. 

"May  brought  the  earliest  mowing,  and  in  this  month  the 
earth  was  first  spaded  up  about  the  olive-trees,  and  the  vine- 
yards dug  over,  this  latter  process  being  repeated  each  month 
until  cold  weather.  The  olives  were  also  trimmed,  the  vine- 
shoots  nipped ;  in  warmer  latitudes  the  sheep  were  shorn,  and 
the  lupins,  which  had  been  sown  as  fertilizers,  were  ploughed 
in.  In  June  the  first  ploughing  was  finished  and  the  second 
done,  the  threshing-floor  was  made  ready,  vetches  mown, 
beans  picked,  and  honey  taken  from  the  hives. 

"Grain-harvest  took  place  in  July,  and  the  cutting  of  the 
straw  and  gathering  of  leaves  for  the  winter  fodder  of  cattle. 
In  August,  figs  and  grapes  were  dried  for  winter  use,  and 
brakes  cut  for  litter. 

"September  was,  par  excellence,  the  month  of  the  vintage, 
and  then,  too,  turnips  were  planted,  and  the  later  grains  har- 
vested. In  October,  winter  grains  were  sown  and  harrowed 
in,  trees  trimmed,  and  the  olive-picking  begun. 

"November  was  devoted  to  a  general  cleaning-up  of  autumn 
work.  The  making  of  oil  was  finished  in  December,  and  the 
vines  trimmed,  and  we  may  close  the  brief  resume  of  the 
work  of  the  Roman  agricultural  year  by  a  few  general  pre- 
cepts from  the  natural  history  of  the  elder  Pliny:  'He  is  no 
farmer  who  buys  what  his  estate  can  supply.  He  is  a  bad 
head  of  a  household  who  does  by  day  what  can  be  done  by 
night — except  in  case  of  foul  weather;  he  is  a  worse  who  does 
on  working-days  what  is  permitted  on  holidays ;  the  worst  of 
all  is  he  who  on  a  pleasant  day  chooses  to  work  within  doors 
rather  than  in  the  field."  ^^ 

The  upper  classes  in  Rome  held  in  low  esteem,  and  even  in 
contempt,  the  tradesmen  and  mechanics.  This  might  have 
been  because  these  people  performed  for  the  masses  the  duties 
that  slaves  did  for  the  higher  classes,  and  so  all  were  put  on 
the  same  footing.  These  people  were,  with  few  exceptions,  de- 
barred from  serving  in  the  legions  and  in  consequence  they 
became  cowardly  and  likewise  at  times  unruly.  Yet  the  labor- 
ing class,  as  everywhere  and  in  all  times,  were  greatly  needed 
at  Rome  and  did  perform  a  large  amount  of  honest  and  use- 
ful labor.  The  great  commerce  carried  on  needed  a  large 
number  of  sailors  and  in  the  ports  dock  hands  and  porters 
and  clerks.  The  city,  too,  needed  a  large  number  in  the  trades, 

*"  Preston  and  Dodge,  The  private  life  of  the  Komans,  132-134. 


The  Child  in  Borne  249 

as,  bakers,  tailors,  shoemakers,  potters,  carpenters,  and  various 
kinds  of  smiths.  There  were  needed  plenty  of  small  shops 
where  the  people  could  procure  the  things  necessary  for  life 
and  such  shops  would  call  for  the  employment  of  many 
people. 

People  of  the  same  trades  would  naturally  associate  to- 
gether and  attachments  would  be  formed,  so  that  guilds  came 
into  existence  at  an  early  date,  both  from  this  natural  instinct 
of  association  and  for  the  protection  of  their  trades.  Among 
the  crafts  represented  in  the  guilds  were  weavers,  carpenters, 
dyers,  leather-workers,  tanners,  smiths,  porters,  and  a  number 
of  others.  They  were  modeled  after  the  gens  or  family,  with 
a  religious  center  and  a  patron  deity.  They  had  separate 
inns  for  their  meetings.  They  had  festive  days  at  which  times 
they  went  in  procession  through  the  streets  carrying  their 
emblems  and  banners.  They  provided  for  the  funerals  of 
their  members,  they  had  their  widow's  fund,  and  in  other 
ways  they  looked  after  the  interests  of  the  ones  belonging  to 
the  guilds. 

Rome  had  an  extensive  commerce.  Traders  went  along  with 
the  soldiers  or  quickly  followed  after  them  to  open  trade  with 
the  conquered  provinces.  Thus  London  in  61  A.  d.,  only 
eighteen  years  after  the  conquest,  had  a  large  number  of 
Roman  merchants  among  its  people.  The  roads  built  from 
Rome  into  all  parts  of  the  world  greatly  promoted  commerce. 
The  traders  did  not  stop  with  the  boundaries  of  the  empire 
but  went  out  among  peoples  not  under  Roman  sway.  As  an 
instance  of  this  was  their  going  out  into  the  North  of  Europe 
to  the  Baltic  for  amber  and  at  one  time  there  was  quite  a 
trade  in  this  and  in  other  articles.  Even  before  Caesar 's  con- 
quest of  Gaul,  Roman  traders  had  entered  it  over  the  St. 
Bernhard  pass  and  had  even  gone  among  the  Belg^e.  The 
Mediteranean,  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  Atlantic  were  full  of 
Roman  ships  trading  with  the  various  provinces  and  coun- 
tries. The  conquest  of  Egypt  opened  up  a  great  trade,  not 
only  with  that  country  but  through  it  also  with  Arabia, 
Ethiopia  and  even  India. 

The  Spectacles.  The  public  games,  or  Spectacles,  were  the 
greatest  amusements  the  Roman  people  had.  Originating  in 
early  times  as  religious  celebrations,  they  became  so  fixed  as 
to  make  them  a  public  necessity,  a  means  of  keeping  the  mass 
of  the  people  busy  so  as  to  keep  their  attention  away  from 
affairs  of  state.     As  it  became  a  duty  of  the  government  to 


250  The  Historical  Child 

provide  grain  free  or  at  a  nominal  cost,  so  it  became  ita  duty 
to  furnish  free  entertainment  for  the  masses.  These  games 
were  provided  by  the  ofncials  and  made  free  to  the  public. 
There  were  four  phases  of  the  spectacles.  Horse  and  chariot 
races  were  held  in  the  circus,  gladiatorial  fights  and  fights 
with  animals  and  also  sea  fights  in  the  amphitheater,  scenic 
representations  in  the  theater,  and  athletic  and  musical  con- 
tests in  the  stadium. 

The  Circus  Maximus  was  located  in  Rome  in  the  valley  be- 
tween the  Palatine  and  Aventine  hills.  It  was  of  an  oblong 
circular  form,  about  a  mile  in  circumference,  and  seated 
150,000  or  more  people.  Among  the  displays  were  exploits 
on  horseback,  such  as  leaping  from  horse  to  horse  while  run- 
ning, picking  up  things  from  the  ground  with  the  horse  in 
full  gallop,  and  the  like.  Young  men  in  full  armor  gave 
mock-fights,  and  sometimes  there  would  be  military  drills,  and 
again  boys  from  senatorial  families  and  young  princes  went 
through  cavalry  exercises  in  glittering  armor.  The  greatest 
displays  of  all  were  the  chariot  races.  Factions  arose  with 
their  colors,  at  first  but  two  with  white  and  red,  and  then  four 
with  white,  red,  blue,  green,  and  later  gold  and  purple  were 
added  but  soon  dropped  out,  leaving  the  four  factions  and 
colors.  Heavy  bets  were  made  by  the  factions  and  there  were 
fierce  contests  and  often  fights  between  them.  Sometimes  two 
chariots  raced,  usually  four,  and  again  at  times  six,  and  there 
were  two  or  four  horses  to  each  chariot,  rarely  three.  The 
victor  in  the  race  was  crowned  and  received  a  cash  prize  and 
he  was  greeted  with  great  applause. 

The  amphitheater  was  an  elliptical  building  with  an  arena 
in  the  center  and  with  tiers  of  seats  leading  up  all  around. 
The  Coliseum  at  Rome  was  the  greatest  of  all,  being  computed 
to  have  contained  87,000  seats.  In  the  amphitheater  were  held 
the  gladiatorial  fights.  Just  how  these  originated  is  unknown 
but  the  first  public  exhibition  of  gladiators  at  Rome  was  given 
in  264  B.  c,  by  the  brothers  Marcus  and  Decimus  Brutus  at 
their  father's  funeral.  Such  continued  at  funerals  and  then 
they  were  given  at  other  times,  the  number  of  days  and 
number  of  fighters  gradually  increasing,  till  Trajan,  upon 
his  return  after  a  victorious  campaign  on  the  Danube,  gave 
gladiatorial  games  for  123  days,  in  which  10,000  fighters 
took  part.  The  gladiators  were  captives,  slaves,  and  criminals, 
and  under  the  empire  knights  and  senators  and  even  women 
were  enrolled  among  them.    There  were  schools  for  the  train- 


The  Child  in  Rome  251 

ing  of  gladiators.  Emperors,  senators,  and  all  classes  of 
people  attended  these  fights  and  although  women  at  first 
were  excluded,  later  they  were  admitted  freely.  The  gladia- 
tors wore  helmets  and  had  leather  coverings  for  their  legs  and 
they  carried  shields.  Their  weapons  were  the  lance,  dagger, 
sword,  and  rapier.  There  were  others  who  used  the  trident 
and  the  net  for  entangling  their  opponents.  They  were  usu- 
ally matched  by  pairs  and  when  one  was  overcome  his  life 
depended  upon  the  people,  w4io  would  turn  down  their  thumbs 
for  his  life  to  be  spared  and  upon  the  turning  up  of  their 
thumbs  the  wounded  gladiator  was  slain  by  his  opponent.  The 
victor  received  a  palm  crown,  sometimes  money,  and  he  might 
be  given  his  freedom. 

' '  These  gladiatorial  exhibitions  proclaim  the  true  nature  of 
the  Roman  character.  When  the  vestal  virgin,  the  Roman 
matron,  and  the  young  lady  could  find  amusement  in  such 
scenes  of  human  slaughter,  it  can  certainly  surprise  no  one 
that  the  Roman  character,  in  its  constituent  elements,  pos- 
sessed so  much  hardihood,  and  could  remain  such  firm  proof 
against  every  tender  feeling  of  humanity.  The  school  of 
blood  in  which  the  young  were  reared,  and  the  old  matured, 
was  eminently  calculated  to  form  precisely  the  character 
which  the  Roman  possessed.  It  is  thus  that  the  manners  and 
customs  of  a  people  are  influenced  by,  and  in  their  turn,  in- 
fluence the  character  from  which  they  originate. "  ^^ 

Another  great  amusement  of  the  Romans  was  the  vermtio, 
or  exhibit  of  wild  animals.  The  first  knowTi  display  of  wild 
animals  at  Rome  was  given  by  Marcus  Fulvius  Nobilior,  the 
conqueror  of  -^tolia,  in  186  b.  c,  eighty  years  after  the  first 
gladiatorial  exhibit.  These  displays  grew  until  all  parts  of 
the  world  were  searched  to  find  animals.  There  were  bears, 
elephants,  deer,  hares,  stags,  boars,  bulls,  crocodiles,  hippo- 
potamuses, rhinoceroses,  lynxes,  apes,  giraffes,  tigers,  ostriches, 
hyenas.  They  were  made  to  fight  with  one  another.  They 
were  starved  to  make  them  fierce  with  hunger  and  then  driven 
into  the  arena  against  one  another  with  whips,  pricked  with 
lances,  burnt  with  hot  irons,  and  in  other  ways  tormented  to 
make  them  extremely  angry.  There  w^ere  also  fights  between 
men  and  beasts.  These  were  often  captives  and  criminals 
compelled  to  fight,  but  there  were  others,  hestiarii,  who  were 
trained,  as  the  gladiators,  in  schools  to  fight  against  animals. 
These  men  sometimes  were  assisted  by  dogs  trained  to  hunt 

*^  Dean,  History  of  civilization.  III,  240. 


252  The  Historical  Child 

and  to  fight  wild  animals.  In  some  exhibits,  captives  and 
criminals  were  bound  to  stakes  and  animals  set  upon  them  or 
they  were  sent  unarmed  or  poorly  armed  against  the  wild 
animals.  There  were,  too,  exhibits  of  trained  animals  and 
animal-training  became  a  regular  profession  under  Augustus. 

Another  form  of  the  spectacle  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
Roman  public  was  the  naumachia,  or  naval  battle.  As  in  the 
other  contests,  usually  the  combatants  were  captives  and  crim- 
inals. These  were  held  in  the  amphitheater,  in  which  case 
the  arena  was  flooded  with  water,  or  great  ponds  were  dug  for 
the  purpose.  The  first  naval  battle  on  a  large  scale  was  given 
by  Julius  Cassar  in  46  b.  c,  the  two  sides  having  biremes,  tri- 
remes, and  quadriremes,  with  1,000  marines  and  2,000  oars- 
men on  each  side.  Claudius  in  52  a.  d.  gave  a  naval  contest 
in  which  there  were  100  triremes  and  quadriremes  and  19,000 
warriors  and  oarsmen.  Other  large  naumachiee  were  produced 
by  Augustus,  Nero,  Titus,  and  Domitian.  In  these  conflicts 
real  fighting  took  place  and  large  numbers  were  killed. 

There  were  no  theatrical  entertainments  in  the  early  times 
of  Rome.  In  364  b.  c,  during  a  plague  which  could  not  be 
stopped,  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  gods  scenic  perform- 
ances were  first  introduced  into  Rome.  Actors  from  Etruria 
were  brought  to  Rome,  who  gave  mimic  dances  to  the  ac- 
companiment of  a  flute.  For  a  long  time  there  were  no 
theaters  erected  at  Rome,  a  temporary  wooden  stage  being 
erected  for  the  occasion.  Later  wooden  theaters  were  built 
and  then  torn  down  after  the  performances  were  over,  being 
used  but  one  time.  The  first  stone  theater  was  built  on  the 
Campus  IMartius  in  55  b.  c.  by  Porapey,  and  which  was  large 
enough  to  hold  40,000  people.  Comedies,  tragedies,  and  pan- 
tomimes were  given.  Tragedy  was  never  popular  with  the 
masses  as  they  were  too  much  used  to  seeing  real  tragedies 
enacted  in  the  arena  for  any  great  impression  to  be  made 
upon  them  by  the  imitations  of  the  stage.  Pantomime  at- 
tained to  the  most  significance  of  all  performances  upon  the 
Roman  stage  and  especially  under  the  empire.  The  profes- 
sional actors  were  mostly  slaves  and  freedmen  or  natives  of 
other  countries,  as  there  was  a  prejudice  against  the  profes- 
sion in  Rome.  Noted  actors  were  paid  high  fees  for  their  per- 
formances. Many  of  the  most  famous  actors  belonged  to  the 
imperial  households. 

The  last  of  the  great  spectacles  were  the  athletic,  literary 
and  musical  contests.    These  contests  were  not  common  under 


The  Child  in  Borne  253 

the  republic  but  they  grew  on  the  people  till  they  became  pop- 
ular under  the  empire.  Athletic  contests  were  first  introduced 
into  Rome  at  the  same  time  as  the  exhibit  of  wild  animals  and 
by  the  same  person,  in  186  b.  c,  by  Marcus  Fulvius  Nobilior, 
who  brought  athletes  from  Greece  for  the  purpose.  These 
contests  continued  to  be  given  and  they  increased  in  popu- 
larity till  a  stadium  for  them  was  built  in  28  b.  c.  on  the 
Campus  Martins  and  the  demand  from  the  people  became  so 
great  that  the  officials  who  provided  the  state  games  included 
athletic  contests  with  the  other  games.  The  Capitoline  Agon 
was  instituted  by  Domitian  in  86  a.  d.,  and  it  took  rank  with 
the  Olympian.  For  these  contests  he  built  a  stadium  large 
enough  to  accommodate  30,000  or  more  spectators.  There 
were  contests  in  oratory  and  poetry,  in  music,  and  in  ath- 
letics. The  oratorical  contests  ceased  in  later  times,  but  those 
in  poetry  increased  in  importance  and  the  most  talented  poets 
in  the  empire  competed  for  the  prize  of  oak-wreath,  bestowed 
by  the  emperor  upon  the  winner  after  the  decision  of  the 
judges.  The  gymnastic  contests  for  men  and  boys  were  the 
same  as  in  Greece.  The  Spartan  custom  of  races  for  girls 
was  introduced  but  soon  discontinued  because  of  the  feeling 
against  it. 

Other  Amusements.  Among  the  sports  of  the  Romans  was 
that  of  hunting.  They  kept  parks  for  this  purpose  and  they 
also  hunted  in  fields  and  forests.  They  used  dogs  in  hunting 
and  they  were  trained  for  hunting  various  kinds  of  animals, 
as,  the  lion,  the  bear,  the  stag,  the  hare,  and  the  like.  Boar- 
hunting  was  one  of  their  most  common  pastimes.  They  had 
hawks  and  other  birds  of  prey  trained  for  hunting.  Fishing 
was  another  sport  and  they  made  use  of  rod  and  line  and  net. 
In  winter  when  the  water  was  frozen  over  they  would  cut 
holes  through  the  ice  for  fishing.  They  had  large  fish-ponds 
on  their  country  estates. 

Walking  was  used  as  a  means  of  exercise  and  as  a  pastime. 
This  was  done  in  the  open  air  and  also  there  were  covered 
walks  built  at  different  places  and  in  particular  about  the 
Campus  Martins  and  the  Forum.  There  were  also  places  pro- 
vided for  horseback  riding  and  for  pleasure  driving  in  ve- 
hicles. 

There  was  a  game  similar  to  chess  in  which  the  chess  men 
were  glass,  ivory  or  metal  colored.  Dice  were  in  great  use 
and  gambling  with  dice  prospered  in  spite  of  laws  against  it. 
Under  the  empire  there  arose  an  entertainment  similar  to  a 


254  The  Historical  Child 

lottery,  in  which  tickets  were  distributed  free  to  the  guests  or 
sold  to  them  and  a  drawing  was  made  for  the  prizes.  At  their 
banquets  and  elsewhere  the  guests  were  entertained  with 
musicians,  mimics,  dancers,  jugglers,  acrobats,  rope-dancers, 
and  other  kinds  of  performers. 

The  Bath.  The  Romans  in  early  times  took  their  baths  in 
the  Tiber.  Later,  the  lavatrina,  or  washhouse,  connected  with 
the  kitchen  by  a  heating  apparatus,  served  as  a  bathroom.  In 
those  days  they  bathed  only  for  health  and  cleanliness. 
Under  the  empire,  bathing  became  a  fashion  and  it  was  carried 
to  excess.  When  the  supply  of  water  became  abundant  by 
means  of  the  aqueducts,  baths  multiplied  rapidly  and  public 
baths  were  established.  The  public  baths  were  at  first  ar- 
ranged for  and  used  only  by  the  common  people,  but  their  im- 
portance grew  gradually  until  all  classes  used  the  public 
baths  and  they  were  enlarged  and  beautified  and  different 
kinds  of  baths  provided,  as,  hot,  tepid,  cold,  and  shower.  The 
usual  time  for  the  bath  was  in  the  afternoon  shortly  before 
the  evening  meal.  It  also  became  the  custom  to  take  a  bath 
after  the  meal  and  then  the  number  was  often  increased  till 
the  bath  was  taken  seven  or  more  times  during  the  day  and 
evening. 

The  thermce,  baths,  at  Rome,  under  the  empire,  covered 
large  spaces,  with  magnificent  structures  adorned  with  paint- 
ings and  sculptures,  the  walls  lined  inside  with  marble,  with 
marble  columns,  and  silver  mouthpieces  for  the  water  pipes. 
There  were  rooms  not  only  for  bathing,  but  also  large  halls 
for  swimming,  and  rooms  for  places  of  meeting  for  conversa- 
tion, for  listening  to  the  reading  of  poems  by  their  authors, 
for  g>'mnastic  exercises,  and  the  like,  and  provided  with  libra- 
ries and  museums.  Thus  these  thermos  became  centers  for 
gatherings  of  various  kinds  and  places  of  amusement. 

Gaines  and  Plays.  Children  in  Rome  played  a  great  deal, 
just  as  do  children  everywhere.  They  had  their  dolls  and 
hobby-horses  and  toy-houses.  They  played  with  carts  and 
used  them  very  much  as  the  children  of  the  present.  They 
skipped  stones  and  walked  upon  stilts  and  spun  tops.  They 
used  nuts  for  playing  a  number  of  games,  one  being  called 
ludus  castellorurn,  in  which  three  nuts  were  to  be  so  arranged 
that  a  fourth  nut  could  be  placed  upon  them  without  displac- 
ing them,  the  winner  receiving  all  the  four  nuts.  They 
played  par  impar,  odd  or  even.  The  boys  and  even  sometimes 
the  young  men  would  roll  a  large  iron  hoop,  which  had  iron 


The  Child  in  Borne  255 

or  brass  rings  fastened  around  it  and  kept  up  quite  a  clatter 
while  the  hoop  was  rolling.  Some  of  these  hoops  were  five  or 
six  feet  in  diameter  and  required  quite  a  little  skill  to  roll 
them,  being  rolled  and  guided  by  means  of  an  iron  rod. 

Ball  was  a  game  especially  liked  by  the  boys  and  young 
men  of  Rome.  There  were  three  kinds  of  balls  used — a  large 
hollow  ball,  a  small  hollow  ball,  and  a  ball  stuffed  with  feath- 
ers. At  the  country  villas  about  Rome  there  was  usually  a 
place  for  ball-playing.  The  boys  used  the  streets  and  squares 
of  Rome  for  ball-playing,  particularly  before  the  butchers' 
shops  in  the  Forum  Romanum.  They  played  ball  alone  or 
with  a  few  or  with  many.  In  one  game  the  ball  was  thrown 
up  into  the  air  and  all  tried  to  catch  it.  The  trigon,  or  pila 
trigonaUs,  was  a  favorite  way  of  playing  ball,  the  players 
being  placed  in  a  triangle  and  they  were  to  fling  the  ball  at 
one  another,  the  one  failing  to  catch  it  and  return  it  being  the 
loser.  There  was  a  game  in  which  they  would  choose  sides 
and  have  the  ground  marked  out  as  for  lawn-tennis. 

Religion.  The  Romans  were  of  a  deeply  religious  nature 
even  down  into  the  times  of  the  empire.  Religion  entered  into 
the  life  of  the  Romans  in  a  practical  way  and  touched  upon 
the  civic  duties  and  social  relations,  as  the  events  of  life  were 
held  to  be  of  a  sacred  nature.  The  Roman  life  was  closely 
connected  with  religion,  as  every  activity  of  life  was  presided 
over  by  a  deity,  whom  it  was  necessary  to  worship  properly 
in  order  that  the  activity  might  prove  successful. 

The  child  came  in  contact  with  religion  at  his  very  earliest 
life  in  the  home  in  the  worship  of  the  household  gods,  the 
Penates  and  Lares,  the  former  being  the  gods  of  the  hearth, 
who  guarded  the  stores  and  provisions  of  the  family,  and  the 
latter  were  the  spirits  of  departed  ancestors,  who  were  the 
protectors  of  the  family.  In  the  atrium  was  the  image  of  the 
chief  lar  between  two  penates,  to  whom  were  offered  sacrifices 
each  morning  by  the  father  as  priest,  and  birthdays  and  mar- 
riages and  the  putting  on  of  the  toga  virilis  by  the  boy  and 
the  return  of  a  member  of  the  family  after  a  long  absence  were 
occasions  of  special  religious  exercises.  The  young  people, 
too,  were  led  further  into  religion  as  the  gens  and  the  state 
carried  on  similar  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  for  the  common 
good,  for  the  state  had  its  common  hearth,  presided  over  by 
the  Vestal  Virgins,  who  guarded  the  sacred  fire  upon  the 
altar,  which  symbolized  the  home. 

Vestal  Virgins.     In  Rome  was  a  worship  in  which  was 


256  The  Historical  Child 

preserved  a  common  hearth,  having  always  burning  on  it  the 
domestic  fire  of  the  whole  nation.  This  was  in  the  temple  of 
Vesta,  the  goddess  of  the  home.  The  goddess  being  herself 
a  virgin,  it  was  considered  necessary  that  this  fire  should  be 
cared  for  by  virgins. 

This  temple  of  Vesta  went  through  a  purification  on  June 
first  of  each  year  and  a  renewal  of  the  fire  was  made  on  March 
first.  In  case  the  fire  went  out  it  was  kindled  again  by  the 
rubbing  together  of  two  pieces  of  "lucky  wood,"  thus  pro- 
ducing a  fire,  and  in  later  times  by  use  of  a  concave  mirror 
to  focus  the  sun 's  rays.  This  was  the  most  sacred  of  all  wor- 
ship at  Rome  and  the  letting  this  fire  go  out  was  considered 
a  great  evil,  as  this  was  emblematic  of  the  state  and  its  extinc- 
tion meant  the  extinction  of  the  nation,  hence  the  Virgin  who, 
through  carelessness  or  negligence,  permitted  this  was  se- 
verely scourged  in  the  dark  by  the  pontifex. 

There  were  six  Vestal  Virgins.  When  chosen,  the  girl  was 
not  to  be  younger  than  six  nor  older  than  ten ;  she  was  to  be 
the  daughter  of  freeborn  parents,  alive  at  the  time  of  her  se- 
lection and  residing  in  Italy,  and  not  engaged  in  any  dis- 
honorable calling;  she  was  to  be  free  from  mental  and  physi- 
cal defects. 

At  the  time  of  the  admission  of  a  Vestal,  her  hair  was 
cut  off,  and  a  very  solemn  ceremony  was  gone  through  with, 
after  which  she  was  dressed  in  white  and  admitted  to  the 
work  of  the  Virgins.  It  appears  that  her  hair  was  allowed  to 
grow  again  and  to  be  worn  long.  Her  dress  was  alwaj^s  white 
and  she  wore  round  her  forehead  a  broad  band  which  had 
ribbons  fastened  to  it.  In  processions  and  at  sacrifices  she 
wore  a  white  veil,  buckled  under  the  chin. 

The  term  of  service  was  thirty  years,  the  Vestal  being  a 
novice  during  the  first  ten  years,  an  active  priestess  the  second 
ten,  and  a  teacher  of  novices  the  remaining  period.  At  the 
end  of  the  term  of  service  of  thirty  years,  the  vestal  could 
go  back  to  her  family  and  even  get  married,  but  most  of  them 
remained  in  the  service  of  the  goddess. 

The  Virgins  had  four  important  duties  to  perform:  (1) 
Tending  the  sacred  fires;  (2)  Bringing  water  daily  from  the 
sacred  spring,  for  ceremonial  sprinkling  and  sweeping;  (3) 
Offering  sacrifices  of  salt  and  cakes,  and  pouring  libations  of 
wine  and  oil  on  the  sacred  fire;  (4)  Guarding  the  seven  sacred 
objects  on  which  the  stability  of  Roman  power  was  supposed 
to  stand,  the  chief  of  these  being  the  Palladium. 


The  Child  in  Borne  257 

The  Vestals  were  very  jealously  guarded.  Death  was  in- 
flicted on  any  one  committing  an  offense  against  one  of  them. 
No  man  was  allowed  to  go  near  the  temple  of  Vesta  at  night 
nor  at  any  time  permitted  to  enter  the  dwelling  of  these 
Virgins.  If  a  breach  of  chastity  occurred  on  the  part  of  one 
of  them,  she  was  severely  punished  by  being  cruelly  beaten 
and  then  buried  alive.  The  one  sharing  her  disgrace  met  a 
violent  death.     Twelve  Vestals  were  so  punished. 

The  privileges  of  a  Vestal  were  very  great.  She  was  en- 
tirely free  from  the  control  of  her  parents ;  she  could  make  a 
will ;  could  give  evidence  without  taking  an  oath ;  had  the 
seat  of  honor  at  banquets  and  games ;  one  who  was  convicted 
of  a  crime,  if  he  accidentally  met  her,  was  given  his  liberty. 
She  was  treated  with  the  utmost  respect  and  reverence ;  a 
consul  meeting  her  on  the  street,  always  made  way  for  her; 
and  all  the  people  gave  great  homage  to  her.  In  all  the 
troublesome  times  between  patricians  and  plebeians  neither 
party  disturbed  the  Vestal  Virgins  but  on  the  contrary  greatly 
respected  them. 

Education.  As  long  as  Kome  was  in  its  full  strength,  edu- 
cation was  wholly  of  a  practical  nature,  its  aim  being  to  pre- 
pare its  young  that  in  manhood  they  might  be  of  most  service 
to  the  state.  It  was  more  of  the  Spartan  idea  than  the 
Athenian,  but  unlike  Sparta  the  Roman  state  did  not  under- 
take the  education  of  the  young  but  left  that  wholly  to  the 
home,  and  it  was  not  till  the  time  of  the  empire  that  education 
was  taken  up  by  the  state,  for  before  that  time  the  state  did 
not  even  assist  in  education,  let  alone  control  it.  Although 
the  state  did  not  concern  itself  with  education,  yet  love  of 
country  and  obedience  to  its  laws  were  so  instilled  into  the 
minds  of  the  young  that  no  other  nation  has  ever  got  its  citi- 
zens to  quite  so  high  a  pitch  of  patriotism  as  the  Roman 
people  reached  under  the  republic.  As  conquest  grew  and 
wealth  increased  under  the  empire,  the  Romans  came  more 
and  more  under  the  influence  of  Greece  until  Greek  methods 
and  models  and  ideals  dominated  Roman  education. 

In  the  early  times  of  Rome  there  were  probably  no  public 
schools,  education  being  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  parents. 
The  early  years  of  the  child  were  under  the  mother,  and  he 
received  his  training  from  her.  These  early  years  of  the  child 
could  not  have  been  passed  better  than  under  the  care  and 
training  of  the  old  Roman  mother,  for  she  was  a  woman  of 
purity  and  dignity  and  industry,  qualities  fitted  for  the  train- 


258  The  Historical  Child 

ing  of  the  child's  younger  years.  As  the  boy  grew  older  he 
would  be  permitted  to  be  in  the  atrium  of  a  morning  when 
his  father  received  his  clients  and  so  the  boy  would  receive 
training  in  custom  and  law  as  he  would  hear  the  counsel  given 
by  his  father  to  the  clients.  The  boy  would  also  gain  much 
from  the  discussions  of  the  men  at  the  banquets  and  other 
gatherings  as  he  would  attend  with  his  father.  The  child  of 
these  times  did  not  learn  through  instruction  so  much  as  by 
informal  training  and  in  imitation  of  his  elders. 

Reading  and  writing  were  taught  to  the  boy  by  the  father 
and  also  simple  calculations,  such  as  would  be  needed  in 
everyday  affairs.  Ballads,  national  songs,  and  religious  hymns 
and  deeds  of  the  men  of  the  past  were  learned  by  the  Roman 
boys.  Physical  training  of  the  boys  came  mostly  through 
games  while  the  young  men  practised  gymnastic  exercises, 
but  only  to  prepare  them  for  military  life.  Such  training 
made  warriors  and  loyal  citizens  but  also  made  these  Romans 
selfish,  overbearing,  cruel,  and  rapacious,  without  lofty  ideals 
or  enthusiasm  for  the  higher  things  of  life. 

Literary  education  may  have  said  to  have  begun  at  Rome 
during  the  third  century  before  Christ.  In  260  b.  c,  ac- 
cording to  Plutarch,  a  school  was  opened  by  Spurius  Carvilius 
at  which  fees  were  charged,  the  first  of  the  kind.  This  man 
was  a  freedman  and  he  had  been  a  domestic  tutor  to  the 
consul  of  the  same  name,  Spurius  Carvilius,  who,  as  mentioned 
before,  was  the  first  man  at  Rome  to  divorce  his  wife.  From 
this  time  education  increased  and  there  became  three  kinds 
of  schools — elementary,  grammar,  and  a  higher  school,  the 
rhetor's  school.  The  first  was  presided  over  by  the  literator, 
or  Indus  magister;  the  second  by  the  literatus,  or,  gram- 
maticus ;  and  the  third  by  the  rhetor.  Added  to  these  kinds 
of  schools  were  those  of  the  various  philosophies,  which  were 
given  to  the  adherents  in  form  of  lectures.  The  child 
entered  the  elementary  school  at  about  the  seventh  year  of 
age.  Near  his  twelfth  year  he  went  into  the  grammar  school 
and  at  fifteen  or  sixteen,  if  he  had  determined  on  politics  or 
law,  he  would  enter  the  rhetor's  school. 

As  stated  above,  the  child  entered  school  at  about  seven 
years  of  age.  The  term  Indus  was  used  to  designate  the  ele- 
mentary school  and  schola  the  higher  school.  In  the  elemen- 
tary schools,  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  of  a  very  ele- 
mentary nature  were  taught.  In  learning  to  read,  the  child 
was  first  taught  his  letters  and  then  syllables,  which  were  fol- 


The  Child  in  Rome  259 

lowed  by  words  and  then  came  the  sentences.  At  the  first  of 
the  elementary  schools  the  reading  was  taught  by  means  of 
exercises  given  by  the  teacher  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
books.  But  during  the  second  century  before  Christ  large 
numbers  of  slaves  were  put  to  copying  books  so  that  from  this 
time  there  were  plenty  of  copies  to  be  had  at  reasonable  cost, 
and  no  doubt  each  child  had  his  own  reading  book,  which 
contained,  perhaps,  a  Latin  version  of  the  Odyssey  and  the 
standard  Latin  poets.  Special  attention  was  given  to  correct 
pronunciation  and  intelligent  expression.  After  the  child  had 
learned  to  read  he  was  then  taught  to  write.  In  the  beginning 
the  teacher  would  make  the  letters  with  a  stylus  on  a  waxen 
tablet  and  then  he  would  give  the  stylus  to  the  child  to  trace 
the  letters,  the  teacher  guiding  the  child's  hand.  In  arith- 
metic but  simple  calculations  were  taught  in  the  elementary 
schools,  the  children  learning  to  count  and  to  calculate  on  the 
fingers  or  by  means  of  pebbles  and  after  using  these  means  till 
they  gained  some  facility  an  abacus  with  pebbles  was  used. 
Also  the  waxen  tablet  with  the  stylus  was  used  for  calcula- 
tion. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  for  a  large  number  of  the  children 
school  education  ceased  with  the  end  of  the  training  in  the 
elementary  schools.  At  twelve  years  of  age  the  boy  who  went 
on  with  his  education  entered  the  grammar  school.  There 
were  two  kinds  of  these  schools — the  Greek  and  the  Latin. 
In  the  Greek  schools  the  language  used  was  Greek  with  Greek 
literature  and  methods  of  instruction,  and  ft  first  the  teachers 
were  Greek.  The  Latin  schools  differed  in  that  the  language 
used  was  Latin  and  while  at  first  the  literature  was  Greek 
translated  into  Latin  later  there  was  a  Latin  literature.  Too, 
the  Latin  schools  laid  more  stress  upon  the  practical  side  of 
the  work  rather  than  the  theoretical.  The  head  of  each 
grammar  school  determined  what  the  curriculum  should  be 
but  these  were  quite  uniform  after  all,  as  all  were  striving 
for  the  same  end.  The  principal  studies  were  grammar  and 
literature,  but  also  were  included  mathematics,  geography, 
history,  and  music. 

In  the  study  of  grammar  there  were  studied  the  divisions 
of  the  letters  into  vowels  and  consonants  with  the  divisions  of 
the  vowels,  the  sounds  of  the  letters  or  phonics,  philology  in 
a  simple  way,  the  parts  of  speech,  the  inflections  of  the  parts 
of  speech,  and  the  like.  In  literature  in  the  Greek  schools,  the 
study  of  Homer  took  the  leading  part  as  did  the  study  of 


260  The  Historical  Child 

Vergil  in  the  Latin  schools,  and  also  other  authors  were 
studied.  Geometry  was  studied  along  the  practical  lines  of 
mensuration  and  astronomy.  Likewise  geography  and  his- 
tory were  entered  into  for  practical  purposes.  Music  was 
taken  up  to  aid  in  getting  proper  intonation  and  rhythm  in 
oratory  and  for  learning  the  religious  chants.  There  was  but 
little  training  in  gymnastics,  only  for  hygienic  purposes  and 
as  an  aid  to  military  training.  Dancing  was  not  taught  in 
the  schools  but  in  the  home.  This  was  not  as  with  us,  but 
more  of  the  form  of  calisthenics.  There  was  nothing  such  as 
the  round  dance  with  us,  which  would  have  been  thought 
shockingly  vulgar  by  the  Romans. 

When  the  youth,  at  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  assumed  the 
toga  virilis,  his  further  education  depended  upon  what  his 
life's  work  was  to  be.  If  it  was  to  be  war,  then  he  at  once 
entered  the  army.  If  he  was  to  enter  public  life,  then  he  at- 
tended the  rhetorical  school  and  studied  oratory  and  law. 
Also  he  frequented  the  places  where  he  could  hear  the  public 
orations  and  he  might  have  attached  himself  to  some  orator 
or  jurist. 

In  the  rhetor's  school  those  things  were  studied  which 
would  help  the  young  man  in  his  public  career.  Oratory  and 
rhetoric  were  the  leading  studies,  and,  as  he  sought,  too,  to 
gain  a  wide  knowledge,  mathematics,  philosophy,  law,  and 
literature  would  be  included  in  the  course.  The  youth  usually 
remained  in  these  higher  schools  for  two  or  three  years.  Then 
he  might  go  on  with  his  studies  through  travel  and  attendance 
at  centers  outside  of  Rome. 

"Youths  of  higher  intelectual  ambition  did  not  rest  satis- 
fied with  the  instruction  obtainable  at  Rome,  but  (at  least 
after  80  b.  c.)  resorted  to  Athens  and  other  philosophical 
and  rhetorical  centers.  In  the  last  decade  of  the  Republic 
there  were  many  famous  schools  of  this  higher  class.  In  ad- 
dition to  Athens,  the  mother  city,  we  have  the  great  university 
schools  of  Rhodes,  Apollonia,  Mitylene,  Alexandria,  Tarsus, 
Pergamus,  and  afterwards,  in  imperial  times,  Smyrna  and 
Ephesus.  In  the  time  of  Cicero  Marseilles  also  was  already  a 
widely  known  school.  "^^ 

The  elementary  schools  were  poorly  provided  for,  as  they 
were  not  held  in  regular  school  houses  for  there  were  no  build- 
ings for  such  educational  purposes.  The  school-rooms  were 
sometimes  on  the  street  or  in  the  market-place,  wherever  a 

**  Laurie,  Pre-Christian  education,  342. 


The  Child  in  Borne  261 

quiet,  convenient  corner  was  found ;  tliey  were,  too,  in  sheds 
or  booths  in  front  of  a  house  like  a  lean-to ;  again  they  were  in 
places  similar  to  a  veranda  of  a  house.  If  the  school-room  was 
the  street,  the  children  sat  on  the  stones ;  in  buildings,  they  sat 
on  the  floor,  or  they  might  have  had  benches.  The  grammar 
schools  were  better  cared  for,  as  they  were  generally  in  cov- 
ered places  attached  to  Icrge  buildings  and  opening  on  the 
street.  They  had  benches  for  the  children  and  the  teacher  sat 
on  a  chair  on  a  raised  place.  There  were  often  placed  in 
grammar  schools  sculptures  of  marble  or  plaster  and  also 
paintings.  All  school-rooms  were  open  to  the  public  and  fre- 
quently the  parents  and  friends  went  in  to  see  the  work  and 
at  times  there  were  great  "speech  days." 

The  pedagogue  was  used  in  Rome,  as  in  Greece,  to  have 
charge  of  the  boy  and  to  accompany  him  to  and  from  school. 
Although  the  Romans  used  the  Greek  term  pedagogue,  yet  the 
Latin  terms  custos,  guardian,  and  pedisequus,  attendant, 
were,  perhaps,  most  commonly  used  and,;  (too,  were  used  comes, 
companion,  and  rector,  governor.  The  Romans  were  more 
careful  in  the  selection  of  a  slave  for  pedagogue  than  were  the 
Greeks,  and  yet  he  was  too  often  too  old  or  too  much  physically 
disabled  for  the  best  performance  of  his  duties.  These  slaves 
often  were  manumitted  when  their  duties  were  completed  in  a 
satisfactory  manner. 

The  elementary  teacher,  litterator,  was  usually  a  slave  or 
freedman,  and  too  often  quite  ignorant,  in  consequence  these 
teachers  were  held  in  little  esteem  and  almost  with  contempt. 
Although  the  grammaticus  was  better  educated  and  received 
more  esteem  yet  he  did  not  have  a  high  standing.  It  was  only 
the  rhetor  who  was  respected  and  praised  in  Rome.  The  ele- 
mentary teacher  received  very  poor  pay  and  the  grammar 
teacher  did  not  fare  much  better.  Yet  in  later  times  the 
grammaticus  and  rhetor  were  both  well  paid  and  there  were 
some  who  even  became  wealthy. 

The  school  year,  at  least  for  the  elementary  schools  and 
probably,  also,  for  the  grammar  schools,  consisted  of  eight 
months,  with  a  vacation  from  July  to  October  inclusive.  There 
was  a  holiday  in  whole  or  in  part  every  eighth  day,  market 
day,  and  there  were  numerous  other  holidays  throughout  the 
school  year.  The  school  day  began  at  daylight,  often  before, 
and  continued  till  evening,  with  a  recess  for  dinner.  There 
were,  however,  no  home  lessons. 

The  discipline  at  school  was  very  severe.    The  ferule,  whip, 


262  The  Historical  Child 

strap,  and  rod  were  very  liberally  used  There  must  have 
been  quite  a  good  deal  of  such  punishment,  as  many  wrote 
protests  against  it,  Quintilian,  perhaps,  most  of  all. 

"Roman  boys,  like  boys  in  our  times,  occasionally  shirked 
school,  or  contrived  to  feign  illness  in  order  to  avoid  reciting 
their  lessons.  The  master  hung  up,  where  all  might  read  it, 
a  board  with  names  of  pupils  who  absented  themselves  or  had 
run  away.  Persius  tells  us  that  when  a  boy  he  used  to  rub 
his  eyes  with  olive  oil  to  give  him  the  appearance  of  illness, 
though  how  oil  would  have  that  effect  is  not  apparent.  Pliny 
says  that  school  children  took  cumin  to  make  them  pale. ' '  ^* 

In  the  early  days  the  education  of  the  girls  was  for  the 
most  part  that  gained  from  the  mother  in  the  home.  They 
were  taught  spinning  and  weaving  and  sewing  and  other 
household  arts,  and,  no  doubt,  they  also  learned  to  read  and 
write,  the  same  as  the  boys.  When  education  became  common, 
girls  had  about  the  same  studies  as  the  boys  but  whether  they 
attended  the  same  schools  with  the  boys  is  a  disputed  question. 
It  is,  perhaps,  true  that  the  girls  of  the  common  people  at- 
tended the  elementary  schools  with  the  boys,  while  the  girls 
of  the  higher  classes  had  tutors  at  home.  It  was  more  diffi- 
cult for  women  to  get  higher  education  as  they  must  have  ob- 
tained it  through  private  instruction  and  possibly,  after  mar- 
riage, from  their  husbands. 


LITERATURE. 

1.  Abbott,  Frank  Frost,  Society  and  politics  in  ancient 
Rome. 

2.  Abbott,  Frank  Frost.     The  common  people  of  ancient 
Rome. 

3.  Anderson,  Lewis  F.,  History  of  common  school  educa- 
tion. 

4.  Church,  Alfred  J.,  Roman  life  in  the  days  of  Cicero. 

5.  Clarke,  George,  The  education  of  children  at  Rome. 

6.  Dean,  Amos,  The  history  of  civilization. 

7.  Dill,    Samuel,    Roman   society   from   Nero   to    Marcus 
Aurelius. 

8.  Donaldson,  James,  Woman :  Her  position  and  influence 
in  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  and  among  the  early  Christians. 

••Clarke,  Children  at  Rome,  67. 


The  Child  in  Borne  263 

9,     Duniy,  Victor,  History  of  Rome  and  the  Roman  people. 

10.  Fowler,  W.  Warde,  Social  life  at  Home  in  the  days 
of  Cicero. 

11.  Fowler,  W.  Warde,  The  Roman  festivals  of  the  period 
of  the  republic. 

12.  Friedlander,  Ludwig,  Roman  life  and  manners  under 
the  early  empire. 

13.  Graves,    Frank   Pierrepont,   A   history   of   Education, 
Before  the  middle  ages. 

14.  Guhl,  E.,  and  Koner,  W.,  The  life  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans. 

15.  Ihne,  W.,  Early  Rome. 

16.  Lanciani,    Rodolpho,    Ancient   Rome   in    the   light    of 
recent  discoveries. 

17.  Laurie,  S.  S.,  Historical  survey  of  pre-Christian  edu- 
cation. 

18.  Letourneau,  Ch.,  The  evolution  of  marriage. 

19.  Mommsen,  Theodor,  The  history  of  Rome. 

20.  Payne,  George  Henry,  The  child  in  human  progress. 

21.  Preston,  Harriet  Waters,  and  Dodge,  Louis,  The  pri- 
vate life  of  the  Romans. 

22.  Shumway,  Edgar  S.,  A  day  in  ancient  Rome. 

23.  Wilkins,  A.  S.,  Roman  education. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    CHILD   IN    EARLIER   AND    MEDIEVAL   EUROPE 

Historical  and  Critical.  We  come  now  to  a  time  in  Europe 
when  there  is  an  overturning  of  the  greatest  nation,  perhaps, 
that  has  ever  arisen  in  this  world  and  with  the  highest  civili- 
zation the  world  had  reached  up  to  its  time  and  Ave  enter  upon 
a  period  where  barbarians  rule  and  where  civilization  lies 
stagnant  for  a  long  number  of  years.  The  question  ever 
arises  why  these  great  civilizations  should  be  overthrown  and 
pass  away  as  it  would  seem  with  their  preservation  the  world 
would  go  on  toward  higher  progress  and  better  living  while 
their  tearing  down  leaves  the  world  in  ignorance  and  dark- 
ness till  another  civilization  gradually  arises. 

Yet  the  very  fact  that  these  civilizations  are  overthrown 
would  imply  that  the  people  themselves  are  weakened  or  else 
they  could  not  be  overcome.  So  it  would  seem  that  the  nation 
has  reached  a  place  where  it  no  longer  can  prove  most  useful 
to  the  people  composing  it  or  to  the  people  of  the  world,  and 
it  must  be  overthrown  and  caused  to  cease  to  exist  in  order 
that  new,  fresh  elements  may  be  allowed  to  enter  into  the  life 
of  the  people  that  stagnation  may  not  come  upon  the  whole 
race  of  people. 

The  old  Romans  disappear  and  a  new  race  enters  upon 
world  activity,  a  race  of  barbarians,  and  not  only  a  new  people 
but  likewise  a  youthful  people,  which  must  promise  much  for 
the  race.  But  this  new  people  begin  at  quite  a  lower  plane  of 
civilization  than  the  old  nations  of  Greece  and  Rome  had 
reached  and  so  there  is  entered  upon  a  long,  slow  upward 
climbing  but  there  is  a  civilization  attained  that  not  only 
reached  to  that  of  Greece  and  Rome  but  even  surpassed  these 
nations  and  it  is  still  going  upward. 

It  would  seem  that  it  does  a  world  good  at  times  to  slow 
down  and  even  to  lie  dormant  for  in  the  end  it  will  surpass  its 
former  self.  Humanity  is  the  same  always  and  the  dominant 
traits,  though  they  may  be  checked  and  held  passive  for  a 
long  time,  in  the  end  will  show  themselves,  strengthened  by 

264 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  265 

the  rest.  The  best  things  that  a  nation  produces  are  not  lost 
in  the  nation's  passing  away  for  the  conquering  people  will  in 
a  slow  way  absorb  and  work  over  the  essentials  and  they  will 
come  forth  among  the  new  people  all  the  better  and  stronger 
for  race  progress.  What  if  the  time  be  long  and  the  regener- 
ation slow,  the  world  can  pass  away  its  time  in  no  better  Vay 
than  in  getting  ready  for  progress  and  it  has  plenty  of  time 
for  such, 

"The  larger  part  of  all  that  the  ancient  world  had  gained 
seemed  to  be  lost.  But  it  was  so  in  appearance  only.  Almost, 
if  not  quite,  every  achievement  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans 
in  thought,  in  science,  in  law,  in  the  practical  arts,  is  now  a 
part  of  our  civilization,  either  among  the  tools  of  our  daily 
life  or  in  the  long-forgotten  or  perhaps  disowned  foundation- 
stones  which  have  disappeared  from  sight  because  we  have 
built  some  more  complete  structure  upon  them,  a  structure 
which  never  could  have  been  built,  however,  had  not  these 
foundations  first  been  laid  by  some  one.  All  of  real  value 
which  had  been  gained  was  to  be  preserved  in  the  world's  per- 
manent civilization.  For  the  moment  it  seemed  lost,  but  it 
was  only  for  the  moment,  and  in  the  end  the  recovery  was  to 
be  complete.  By  a  long  process  of  education,  by  its  own  nat- 
ural growth,  under  the  influence  of  the  remains  of  the  ancient 
civilization,  by  no  means  small  or  unimportant,  which  worked 
effectively  from  the  very  first,  by  widening  experience  and 
outside  stimulus,  the  barbarian  society  which  resulted  from 
the  conquest  was  at  last  brought  up  to  a  level  from  which  it 
could  comprehend  the  classic  civilization,  at  least  to  a  point 
to  see  that  it  had  very  much  still  to  learn  from  the  ancients, 
and  then,  with  an  enthusiasm  which  the  race  has  rarely  felt, 
it  made  itself  master  in  a  generation  or  two  of  all  that  it  had 
not  known  of  the  classic  work — of  its  thought  and  art  and 
science — and  from  the  beginning  thus  secured,  advanced  to 
the  still  more  marvelous  achievements  of  modem  times."* 

Feudalism.  Feudalism  was  a  form  of  society  and  govern- 
ment which  arose  during  the  Middle  Ages  and  became  one 
of  the  great  institutions  of  that  time,  whose  legal  principles 
and  social  ideals  are  still  prevalent  in  the  fundamentals  of 
law  and  society  of  the  present.  "It  is  itself  a  crude  and 
barbarous  form  of  government  in  which  the  political  organ- 
ization is  based  on  the  tenure  of  land;  that  is,  the  public 
duties  and  obligations,  which  ordinarily  the  citizen  owes  to 

*  Adams,  Civilization  during  the  middle  ages,  9-10. 


266  The  Historical  Child 

the  state,  are  turned  into  private  and  personal  services  which 
he  owes  to  his  lord  in  return  for  land  which  he  has  received 
from  hira. ' '  ^  The  feudal  system  was  not  confined  to  Europe, 
for  it  existed  as  well  in  Japan  and  in  Central  Africa  and 
among  the  Mohammedans,  for  if  the  conditions  that  underlie 
this  system  arise  then  human  nature,  whatever  the  place  or 
time,  is  likely  to  take  on  this  form  of  government. 

The  feudal  system  grew  up  from  the  conditions  of  society 
of  the  time,  which  caused  the  people  to  organize  themselves 
about  earlier  institutions  whose  remains  still  existed  among 
them.  In  Rome  there  had  grown  up  a  system  where  the 
great  man  had  clients  attached  to  him,  who  consulted  him, 
who  helped  him  and  in  turn  were  helped  and  directed  by  him. 
This  system  must  have  somewhat  been  taken  up  by  the  con- 
querors and  carried  through  the  years  in  a  modified  form, 
so  that  when  there  was  no  longer  a  strong  central  power 
able  to  care  for  the  people  as  a  whole,  it  was  natural  for 
them  to  turn  to  the  'strong  men  about  them  and  to  attach 
themselves  to  the  ones  who  could  bestow  upon  them  land  to 
hold  in  tenure  and  likewise  who  was  strong  enough  to  pro- 
tect them  in  the  use  of  this  land  or  of  their  own  land.  The 
constituent  elements  of  feudalism  were  those  referring  to  land 
and  its  tenure  and  to  the  relations  which  existed  between  the 
protector  and  the  one  protected,  or,  vassalage,  beneficies,  and 
immunities. 

The  term  vassal  was  originally  applied  to  servants  not  free, 
but  it  gradually  grew  to  mean  a  free  man  and  a  vassal  was 
of  the  same  condition  as  his  lord,  so  that  the  term  held  an 
honorable  meaning.  The  relation  of  the  vassal  to  the  lord 
was  that  of  homage  and  fealty.  There  were  two  parts  to  the 
ceremony  of  vassalage.  In  the  first  ceremony,  the  man 
kneeled  before  the  lord,  laid  his  hands  in  those  of  the  lord, 
and  promised  homage  to  him,  upon  which  the  lord  lifted  him 
up  and  gave  him  the  kiss  of  peace.  In  the  second  ceremony, 
an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord  was  taken  upon  the  Gospels  or 
upon  some  relic  or  relics  of  saints.  At  the  time  of  this  cere- 
mony the  lord  performed  the  ceremony  of  investiture,  when 
he  handed  to  the  vassal  some  material  object  to  symbolize 
that  the  man  was  invested  with  a  fief.  The  vassal  owed  to 
his  lord  military,  civil,  and  financial  duties.  He  had  to  give 
military  service  for  a  certain  length  of  time  each  year,  usually 
forty  days,  at  his  own  expense,  which,  if  continued,  was  at, 

'Adams,  Civilization  during  the  middle  ages,  197. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  267 

the  expense  of  the  lord.  The  vassal  was  bound  to  attend  the 
court  of  his  lord  and  to  aid  him  in  administering  justice. 
In  cases  where  the  lord  was  taken  prisoner  in  war  and  a 
ransom  was  demanded  or  his  son  was  knighted  or  his  eldest 
daughter  married,  or  if  he  went  to  the  Crusades,  the  vassal 
was  to  give  financial  aid.  The  lord  owed  the  obligation  to 
his  vassal  to  support  him  in  his  fief  and  to  defend  him  against 
every  enemy. 

On  the  death  of  the  lord  the  inheritance  passed  to  his 
children.  At  first  only  male  heirs  could  inherit  lands,  but 
later  the  daughter  shared  with  the  son  all  the  privileges  of 
succession  except  that  of  primogeniture. 

The  benefices  were  bestowed  by  the  lord  upon  the  vassal, 
the  land  to  be  held  by  tenure,  and  thus  the  vassal  was  placed 
under  obligation  to  the  lord.  There  were  some  lands  that 
were  held  freely  and  not  by  tenure,  such  being  known  as 
allodial  lands,  but  these  freeholds  decreased  until  finally  they 
wholly  disappeared  and  all  the  land  was  held  by  tenure. 

The  immunities  were  grants  of  privileges  to  churches  or  to 
private  individuals.  These  included  the  exemption  from  cer- 
tain dues  or  certain  obligations. 

In  his  domain  the  lord  was  a  kind  of  sovereign.  He  ad- 
ministered justice,  levied  taxes,  coined  money,  and  declared 
war  for  himself  and  for  his  own  benefit.  The  revenues  of 
the  lord  were  of  various  kinds.  He  received  a  certain  part 
of  the  crops  from  his  vassals  and  he  received  the  judicial 
fees  and  other  fees  of  various  kinds.  Property  left  after 
death  where  there  were  no  heirs  went  to  him. 

The  Feudal  Castle  and  Its  Life.  As  has  been  stated,  when 
the  central  power  became  weak  and  no  longer  able  to  protect 
the  common  people,  they  began  to  cluster  about  strong  men 
for  protection.  These  men  occupied  places  that  could  be  de- 
fended or  else  they  sought  out  places  of  strength  and  secur- 
ity, usually,  heights  and  places  which  were  difficult  of  access. 
Here  they  built  castles  and  fortified  them.  These  were  at 
first  wood,  making  a  kind  of  wooden  blockhouse,  but  grad- 
ually stone  came  to  be  used  and  they  were  built  exceedingly 
strong,  and  often  considered  impregnable. 

The  feudal  village  lay  beneath  and  about  the  castle.  There 
was  a  complete  social  separation  between  the  life  in  the  castle 
and  that  in  the  village  surrounding  it.  They  pursued  a 
different  life,  as  the  lord  and  his  retainers  were  engaged  in 
war  or  the  chase  or  lived  in  idleness,  while  the  people  of  the 


268  The  Historical  Child 

village  were  laborers.  There  became  a  wide  separation  be- 
tween the  village  and  the  castle  and  special  privileges  grew 
up  about  the  dwellers  of  the  castle  and,  through  inheritance, 
a  nobility  arose  that  lived  in  idleness  and  came  to  looking 
down  upon  and  really  despising  the  common  people. 

This  isolation  of  the  castle  did,  though,  bring  a  closer  re- 
lation between  the  members  composing  its  family.  However 
much  the  lord  might  go  out  for  war  or  for  adventure,  in  the 
end  he  must  return  to  his  castle,  as  it  was  his  home.  Here 
he  found  his  wife  and  children,  with  whom  he  must  spend 
his  time,  mostly  alone  with  them,  so  that  close  relations  grew. 
When  the  lord  was  away  from  the  castle,  his  wife  must, 
naturally,  have  had  charge  of  affairs  and  this  would  produce 
in  her  characteristics  which  would  cause  her  to  be  respected 
by  her  lord  and  often  to  be  considered  his  equal.  It  thus 
arose  that  domestic  life  came  to  mean  much  in  that  time  and 
the  family  became  the  center  of  social  relationship.  The  im- 
portance of  the  woman  increased  and  the  value  of  wife  and 
mother  became  to  be  recognized  beyond  what  had  been  known 
up  to  that  time. 

Chivalry.  Chivalry  arose  in  the  Middle  Ages,  reaching  its 
height  during  the  Crusades.  It  constituted  the  moral  and  so- 
cial law  and  custom  of  the  ruling  classes  in  Europe  between 
the  eleventh  and  sixteenth  centuries..  It  grew  out  of  old 
Teutonic  customs,  was  modified  by  the  feudal  system,  and 
brought  into  existence  a  distinction  between  men  of  noble 
rank  and  the  common  people  about  them.  The  chivalric  per- 
son was  expected  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God,  to 
his  feudal  lord,  and  to  his  lady.  The  knight  was  trained  to 
service  and  obedience.  He  was  to  give  his  services  to  the 
weak,  especially  of  his  own  rank,  to  give  himself  over  to  the 
protection  of  the  church,  to  be  reverent  and  obedient  to  his 
superiors,  and  to  hold  womankind  in  high  esteem. 

In  the  training  of  a  knight,  the  boy  remained  at  home  till 
his  seventh  or  eighth  year  under  the  care  of  his  mother,  who 
began  his  religious  education  and  gave  him  his  early  training 
in  respect  and  obedience  to  his  superiors.  He  was  then  placed 
under  the  care  of  some  nobleman  or  churchman,  in  whose 
castle  he  lived  and  took  his  place  with  the  members  of  the 
household.  He  was  known  as  a  page  and  he  waited  upon 
his  lord  and  lady.  He  learned  to  play  chess  and  other  games 
and  in  most  cases  to  play  the  harp  and  to  sing  and  likewise 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  269 

to  read  and  write.  He  was  trained  in  running,  wrestling, 
boxing,  and  riding  and  some  knightly  exercises  that  went 
with  the  riding.  At  fourteen  or  fifteen  the  youth  became  a 
squire  and  entered  into  more  intimate  relations  with  the 
knight  and  his  lady.  "With  other  squires  he  played  chess  and 
walked  and  hunted  with  the  lady  of  the  castle,  and  they  at- 
tended to  the  personal  wants  of  the  knight,  such  as  caring 
for  his  bed,  helping  him  to  dress,  grooming  his  horse,  and 
attending  upon  him  at  the  tournament  and  in  war.  During 
this  time  the  youth  learned  the  arts  of  war — to  exercise  in 
armor,  to  ride  and  to  use  the  shield,  and  to  handle  the  sword 
and  lance  and  battle-axe.  As  he  neared  the  end  of  his  squire- 
ship,  the  young  man  chose  his  lady-love,  to  whom  he  was  ever 
to  be  devoted.  She  was  usually  older  than  he  and  often 
married  and  he  was  expected  to  remain  devoted  to  her  even 
though  he  should  marry. 

At  twenty-one  the  young  man  became  a  knight,  after  the 
ceremony  of  knighthood.  AVlien  the  time  for  the  ceremony 
arrived,  the  candidate  put  in  a  season  of  fasting  and  puri- 
fication and  prayer,  and  then  he  passed  the  night  in  a  church 
in  prayer  and  meditation.  In  the  morning  came  the  confes- 
sion and  the  absolution  and  the  eucharist.  He  then  placed 
his  sword  upon  the  altar,  the  priest  blessed  it  and  returned 
it  to  him,  after  he  had  taken  the  solemn  oath  of  knighthood. 
His  armor  was  placed  upon  him  and  his  sword  buckled  about 
him  and  then  he  knelt  before  his  lord,  who  laid  his  sword 
upon  the  candidate's  shoulder  and  dubbed  him  knight.  The 
new  knight  then  arose  and  mounted  his  horse  and  displayed 
his  skill  and  strength  in  handling  his  horse  and  in  the  use 
of  his  weapons. 

The  knight's  great  occupation  was  that  of  war.  For  this 
he  lived  and  for  this  he  trained  throughout  life.  For  prac- 
tical training  in  war  the  tournament  came  into  existence, 
wherein  there  were  actual  combats  waged  with  the  weapons 
of  war,  and  when  there  were  good  numbers  on  each  side  it 
became  a  real  battle,  even  to  the  wounding  and  killing.  This 
gave  opportunity  for  displaying  knightly  powers  and  cour- 
age, for  gaining  the  smiles  and  good-will  of  the  ladies,  and 
likewise  for  the  settling  of  private  quarrels.  The  tournament, 
too,  was  the  greatest  of  all  amusements  during  feudal  times 
and  brought  together  the  largest  gatherings  and  the  greatest 
displays.    Fairs  were  held  in  connection  with  them  in  which 


270  The  Historical  Child 

there  was  great  merry-making,  where  jugglers  and  strolling 
players  and  musicians  found  place  and  drunkenness  and  gam- 
bling and  the  like  prevailed. 

A  level  piece  of  ground  was  chosen  on  which  an  oval  en- 
closure was  made,  with  rows  of  seats  and  covered  galleries 
all  round.  The  knights  who  were  to  engage  in  the  fights 
pitched  their  tents  at  either  end,  where  they  stationed  them- 
selves with  their  squires.  Heralds  had  charge  of  affairs  and 
arranged  the  ceremonies  and  rules  of  procedure.  There  were 
jousts,  in  which  two  opponents  met  one  another  on  horseback 
with  lances,  and  after  the  jousts  was  a  general  fray,  in  which 
there  were  a  number  of  champions  on  each  side  who  fought 
with  swords  and  sometimes  even  with  battle-axes,  usually  on 
horseback,  but  on  some  occasions  some  on  horse  and  some 
on  foot.  The  evening  before  the  tournament  there  was  a  try- 
out  of  arms  of  squires  and  young  knights,  blunt  weapons 
being  used,  the  winners  being  allowed  to  enter  the  general 
fray  of  the  next  day. 

AH  being  ready,  the  lists  were  cleared  and  the  two  knights, 
on  horseback  with  lances,  were  placed  at  some  distance  op- 
posite each  other.  At  a  signal  from  the  herald  they  lowered 
their  lances  and  rushed  at  each  other,  each  striving  to  knock 
the  other  from  his  horse.  In  case  both  knights  kept  their 
seats  unhurt,  they  tried  it  again,  till  one  or  both  were  un- 
horsed. Then  they  fought  on  foot  with  swords  till  one  was 
overcome.  At  the  close  of  all  the  jousts  the  general  fray 
took  place.  In  the  jousts  sometimes  one  or  the  other  knight 
was  badly  wounded  and  sometimes  even  killed.  In  the  gen- 
eral fray  the  fight  might  have  become  so  fierce  that  a  number 
would  be  wounded  and  killed  on  both  sides.  In  the  evening 
after  the  close  of  the  tournament  a  great  feast  was  held, 
which  was  attended  by  the  ladies  and  the  knights  who  par- 
ticipated in  the  tournament  and  other  members  of  the  no- 
bility. 

The  mounted  knight  was  a  great  fighter  and  could  over- 
come quite  a  number  of  unarmed  and  unarmored  peasants. 
As  long  as  fighting  was  done  at  close  quarters  no  other  fighter 
could  equal  him  or  expect  to  overcome  him.  But  when  the 
common  people  began  to  be  armed  with  the  bow  and  the  pike 
an  army  could  be  raised  that  did  not  always  have  to  fight  at 
close  quarters  and  so  armor  did  not  mean  so  much.  War,  too, 
was  becoming  a  mercenary  trade  and  a  king  could  obtain  an 
army  by  paying  for  mercenary  cavalry  and  by  arming  his 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  271 

yeomen  and  peasants  and  forming  them  into  pliant  infantry. 
While  the  barons  wasted  their  strength  in  fighting  and  rob- 
bing one  another,  the  king  swept  down  upon  them  with  his 
army  of  infantry  and  mercenary  cavalry  and  defeated  them 
one  by  one,  thus  doing  away  with  petty  baronies  and  their 
private  quarrels  and  uniting  them  under  one  strong  power. 
When  gunpowder  came  into  general  use,  the  knight  and  his 
armor  vanished  in  smoke  and  the  chivalry  of  the  middle  ages 
passed  away  and  through  the  transforming  influences  of  the 
printing  press  and  steam  power  and  the  many  other  arts  of 
modern  times  it  was  refined  and  became  the  basis  of  the 
civilization  cf  the  present  day.  Chivalry  is  still  extant,  but 
it  has  a  different  meaning  than  that  of  feudal  times,  for  where 
the  feudal  system  had  its  knight  the  present  age  has  its  gen- 
tleman. 

The  age  of  chivalry  most  naturally  aroused  poetic  and 
musical  fancies  and  during  that  time  arose  the  trouveurs  of 
Northern  France,  with  whom  may  be  placed  the  minstrels  of 
the  British  Isles,  and  the  troubadours  of  Southern  France  and 
the  minnesingers  of  Germany.  These  poets  and  singers  were 
from  all  classes — nobility,  artisans,  clergy — and  although 
most  of  them  were  of  noble  rank,  yet  there  were  some  noted 
ones  from  the  common  people.  They  would  go  about  the 
country  reciting  and  singing  their  poems  and  they  were  wel- 
come everywhere.  They  would  sing  of  war  and  of  love,  many 
of  the  productions  being  based  upon  heroes  of  the  past  and 
again  others  being  of  imaginary  characters. 

The  Peasantry.  During  feudal  times  there  arose  a  great 
distinction  between  noble  and  ignoble  service.  The  noble 
service  was  that  perform.ed  by  the  knight  in  armor  on 
horseback,  that  of  the  unpaid  warrior,  while  ignoble  service 
was  that  of  the  field  laborer.  Since  feudal  life  was  mainly 
agricultural,  the  artisan,  the  dweller  in  the  town,  counted 
but  little,  but  there  came  a  time  when  he  did  count  much 
for  the  overthrow  of  feudalism.  The  mass  of  the  laboring 
people  were  serfs  and  they  were  treated  sternly  by  their 
masters,  the  noblemen,  and  they  were  not  much  more  than 
slaves. 

Slavery,  so  prominent  under  the  Roman  rule,  gradually 
disappeared  during  the  middle  ages.  Yet  the  serf  at  first 
was  but  little  better  off,  for,  although  he  could  not  be  sold, 
he  could  not  leave  the  land.  He  did  have  some  control  of 
his  person,  for  he  had  allotted  to  him  a  bit  of  land  upon 


272  The  Historical  Child 

which  he  could  work  without  being  driven  by  an  overseer. 
Later  he  was  permitted  to  go  out  elsewhere  for  work,  but 
for  this  he  must  possess  a  legal  permit.  This  led  to  the  cus- 
tom of  allowing  him  to  pay  his  lord  in  money  for  his  services 
in  lieu  of  work  upon  the  land  or  returns  from  the  land,  and 
then  followed  his  being  permitted  to  purchase  his  freedom, 
so  that  the  serf  could  become  a  f  reedman. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  period  the  laboring  and  the 
trading  classes  did  not  count  as  political,  military,  or  social 
factors.  They  are  scarcely  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the 
time.  They  were  robbed  by  the  nobles,  their  persons  mal- 
treated, and  their  wives  and  daughters  dishonored.  There 
were  exactions  of  all  kinds.  They  had  to  pay  annual  dues 
for  the  use  of  the  land,  they  had  to  give  a  certain  number  of 
days  free  each  year  to  the  repair  of  the  public  roads  and  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  lord's  domains,  and  they  had  to  be 
ready,  when  called  upon,  to  render  military  service  of  such 
an  inferior  kind  as  they  could  do.  "He  was  bound  to  bake 
his  bread  at  the  lord's  oven,  grind  his  grain  at  the  lord's 
mill,  and  press  his  grapes  in  his  lord 's  wine-press,  paying,  of 
course,  for  the  privilege;  if  he  wanted  to  chase  or  cut  wood 
in  the  forest,  or  fish  in  the  stream,  or  feed  his  cattle  in  the 
pasture,  all  of  which  were  reserved  seigniorial  rights^^he  must 
pay  his  tax.  He  must  pay  the  lord  for  the  use  of  his  weights 
and  measures,  or  for  a  guarantee  against  changes  in  his  coin- 
age. He  may  not  even  sell  the  remnant  of  crops  which 
survived  this  accumulation  of  taxes  until  those  of  the  lord 
have  been  sold  at  the  highest  market  price.  After  the  lord 
had  squeezed  the  peasant  almost  to  the  point  of  extinction, 
came  the  church  with  its  even  more  effectual  agencies  of 
terror  and  superstition.  Its  principal  exaction  was  the  tithe, 
a  tax  of  one-tenth  upon  the  products  of  agriculture,  a  burden 
sufficient,  if  rigidly  enacted,  to  ruin  any  field  industry.  But 
not  content  with  this,  the  church,  like  the  feudal  seignior, 
profited  by  every  special  occasion,  birth,  baptism,  marriage, 
death,  to  collect  new  contributions."^ 

Even  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  life  of  the  laboring 
man  was  very  hard,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  in  reference 
to  the  British  peasant  of  that  time.  "At  the  first  setting 
out  of  the  plough  after  Christmas,  which  was  the  time  to 
begin  fallowing,  or  breaking  up  the  pease  earth,  the  teams- 
man  rose  before  4  a,  m.,  and  after  thanks  to  God  for  his 

*Emerton,  Medieval  Europe,  518. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  273 

night's  rest,  proceeded  to  the  beast  house.  Here  he  foddered 
his  cattle,  cleaned  out  their  booths,  rubbed  down  the  animals, 
currjdug  the  horses  with  cloths  and  wisps.  Then  he  watered 
his  oxen  and  horses.  He  next  foddered  the  latter  with  chaff, 
dry  pease,  oat  hulls,  beans,  or  clean  garbage,  such  as  the 
hinder  parts  of  rye.  While  they  were  eating  their  meal,  he 
got  ready  his  collars,  hames,  treats,  halters,  mullers,  and 
plough  gears.  At  6  a.  m.  he  received  half  an  hour's  liberty 
for  breakfast.  From  seven  till  between  two  and  three  in  the 
afternoon  he  ploughed.  Then  he  unj'^oked,  brought  home  his 
oxen,  cleansed  and  foddered  them,  and,  lastly,  partook  of  his 
dinner,  for  which  he  was  again  granted  another  half  "hour's 
spell  of  leisure.  By  4  p.  m.  he  was  again  in  the  stable.  After 
rubbing  down  his  charges  and  re-cleansing  their  stalls,  he 
went  to  the  barns,  where  he  prepared  the  fodder  for  the  fol- 
lowing day's  bait.  He  carried  this  to  the  stable,  and  then 
watered  his  beasts  and  replenished  their  mangers.  It  was 
now  close  on  6  p.  m.  He  therefore  went  home,  got  his  supper, 
and  then  sat  by  the  fireside,  either  mending  his  and  the  fam- 
ily's  shoe-leather,  or  knocking  hemp  and  flax,  or  picking  and 
stamping  apples  and  crabs  for  cider  or  vinegar,  or  grinding 
malt  on  the  quern,  or  picking  candle  rushes,  till  8  p.  m. 
He  then  lighted  his  lanthorn  and  revisited  the  stable,  where 
he  again  cleansed  the  stalls  and  planks,  and  replenished  the 
racks  with  the  night's  fodder.  Then,  returning  to  his  cot- 
tage, he  gave  God  thanks  for  benefits  received  during  the  day, 
and  w^ent  to  bed. ' '  * 

The  Town  People.  In  the  early  part  of  this  period  the 
artisans,  like  the  field  serfs,  were  grouped  under  a  lord  to 
whom  their  products  belonged.  Later  they  grouped  them- 
selves into  communities  and  began  to  deal  with  the  lord  more 
as  a  body  and  not  as  separate  individuals,  although  at  first 
there  was  not  much  organization.  There  was  a  continvious 
growth,  though,  toward  closer  organization  till  there  arose 
the  great  free  city  with  its  charter  of  freedom  obtained  from 
the  lord  for  services  rendered  or  funds  furnished  in  a  time 
of  his  great  need. 

The  growth  of  commerce,  too,  aided  in  the  formation  of 
these  cities,  as  for  the  carrying  on  of  trade  it  was  necessary 
to  have  centers  where  the  people  might  come  together.  These 
places  might  at  first  have  been  a  fair,  a  temporary  affair,  but 
gradually  these  centers  became  permanently  established  or 

*  Gamier,  Annals  of  the  British  peasantry,  141. 


274  The  Historical  Child 

old  ones  revived.  For  the  carrying  on  of  trade  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  a  medium  of  exchange  and  the  amount  of  money 
was  increased  by  the  cities  through  accumulation  and  coin- 
age. This  gave  to  the  cities  a  strong  means  for  obtaining 
freedom,  as  the  lord  was  ever  in  need  of  funds  and  the 
cities  by  accumulating  money  and  having  the  power  to  raise 
a  general  fund  could  from  time  to  time  buy  rights  from  the 
lord  as  his  need  of  money  became  urgent. 

In  Italy  and  Germany  the  cities  formed  themselves  into 
corporations,  the  most  noted  perhaps  being  the  Hanseatic 
League.  In  England,  however,  the  cities  did  not  join  to- 
gether, but  each  stood  apart  and  cared  for  itself  alone.  They 
became  really  more  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  town  itself 
than  in  that  of  the  nation  and  the  prosperity  of  the  town 
was  of  the  most  importance.  The  town  could  not  set  aside 
the  law  of  the  land,  but  it  could  add  to  it  as  far  as  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  town  itself  was  concerned  and  ordinances 
were  passed  relative  to  the  welfare  of  the  town.  The  officers 
of  these  towns  considered  themselves  as  very  important  per- 
sonages and  on  occasions  of  state  they  arrayed  their  persons 
in  gorgeous  robes  and  carried  themselves  with  great  dignity. 
These  towns  erected  stately  churches  and  other  public  build- 
ings and  adorned  them  magnificently. 

A  striking  feature  of  town  life  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  the 
formation  of  guilds.  This  was  not  original  with  this  period 
for,  as  told  under  the  chapter  on  Rome,  there  were  organiza- 
tions at  Rome  similar  to  the  guilds  of  the  middle  ages  and 
likewise  there  were  similar  organizations  in  Greece.  In  the 
medieval  period  there  were  two  kinds  of  guilds.  The  first 
kind  was  of  a  general  nature  and  it  was  organized  for  mutual 
protection  or  aid,  such  as  protection  against  thieves  and  aid 
in  times  of  sickness,  old  age,  and  the  like.  The  second  kind 
was  the  trade  guild,  such  as  formed  by  merchants  and  crafts- 
men. Guilds  formed  a  very  important  element  in  the  town 
life  of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  almost  all  professions  and  occu- 
pations had  guilds. 

The  craft  guild  embraced  all  the  members  of  a  craft— the 
apprentice,  who  was  bound  for  service  for  a  number  of  years 
to  learn  the  trade ;  the  journeyman,  or  skilled  laborer,  who 
received  wages  for  his  work ;  and  the  master,  who  controlled 
the  journeyman  and  the  apprentice.  The  function  of  the 
guild  was  to  regulate  and  protect  the  craft  and  also  to  help 
one  another  and  to  care  for  the  orphan  and  the  widow  and 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  275 

the  aged.  Officers  from  their  own  body  were  appointed  to 
carry  out  the  regulations  and  to  have  general  oversight  of  the 
organization. 

' '  The  medieval  townsman  was  very  narrow  in  his  aims,  very 
selfish,  and  sometimes  very  cruel  in  his  exclusiveness,  but  his 
whole-hearted  affection  for  his  town,  his  anxiety  for  its  wel- 
fare, and  his  pride  in  its  beauty  are  delightful:  they  must 
have  made  his  life  very  real  and  absorbing  to  him,  and  they 
make  it  very  attractive  to  us."® 

The  Aristocracy.  As  was  stated  before,  during  the  middle 
ages  in  Europe  there  grew  up  a  sharp  distinction  between 
the  noble  and  the  commoner,  which  was  strongly  emphasized 
by  inheritance  till  there  became  the  grouping  of  people  into 
hard  and  fast  classes.  The  nobility  possessed  two  character- 
istics that  distinguished  them  from  the  common  people  which 
were  the  right  to  inherit  landed  estate  and  the  right  to 
knighthood.  Thus  arose  a  class  born  to  estate  and  chivalry 
which  hardened  into  an  aristocracy  that  was  almost  impossible 
for  the  man  born  of  the  public  to  enter.  Yet  there  were  two 
ways  by  which  he  might  enter  into  nobility,  by  the  purchase 
of  an  estate  to  which  the  quality  of  nobility  was  attached, 
which  his  children  inherited,  and  through  the  creation  of 
new  nobles  by  the  king,  which,  though,  was  rarely  done 
during  medieval  times. 

The  love  of  show  and  magnificence  was  great  during  the 
middle  ages  and  was  greatly  displayed  by  the  aristocracy  of 
the  period.  The  most  impressive  and  lavish  displays  were 
centered  round  the  person  of  the  king.  This  was  shown  in 
the  gorgeous  ceremonies  and  settings  of  his  coronation,  in 
court  etiquette  and  regulations,  and  in  the  large  establish- 
ment of  his  household.  Some  of  the  great  nobles  had  estab- 
lishments that  rivaled  and  even  excelled  that  of  the  king. 
The  great  lord  had  a  large  body  of  retainers  who  wore  his 
livery  and  badge,  a  great  number  of  whom  were  members  of 
his  household  and  ate  at  his  table.  These  great  lords  were 
lavish  in  their  entertainment  and  sometimes  impoverished 
themselves  through  their  hospitality,  and  were  thereby  com- 
pelled to  obtain  money,  which,  as  mentioned  before,  gave  to 
the  cities  the  opportunity  of  securing  privileges  from  them. 
In  England  such  nobles  sometimes  repaired  their  fortunes 
by  marrying  the  daughters  of  rich  merchants  or  by  engaging 
in  trade,  but  in  France  the  old  noblesse,  whose  social  stand- 

^Abram,  English  life  and  manners  in  the  later  middle  ages,  30. 


276  The  Historical  Child 

ing  depended  upon  their  ancient  origin,  preferred  poverty  to 
such  means  of  enriching  themselves,  which  they  would  regard 
with  holy  horror,  and  they  kept  their  respect  and  dignity 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  misfortunes,  without  thus  en- 
dangering their  pure  strain  of  noble  blood  by  mixing  it  with 
that  of  the  common  herd  or  soiling  their  sacred  persons  with 
the  vulgar  touch  of  trade. 

The  Home.  As  time  went  on  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  houses 
built  as  a  means  of  defence  grew  less,  so  that  the  castle  began 
to  disappear  and  the  home  to  take  its  place.  The  houses  be- 
gan to  assume  proportions  of  gi'andeur  and  forms  of  beauty, 
the  outgrowth  of  the  love  of  magnificence  and  display  of  the 
times.  In  England  the  manor  houses  were  grouped  around 
a  courtyard  with  the  entrance  through  a  gate-house.  In  the 
house  was  a  great  hall,  made  to  accommodate  a  large  number 
of  people.  The  kitchen  was  a  large  room,  sometimes  having 
three  or  four  large  fireplaces.  Leading  from  the  hall  were 
chambers  for  the  lord  and  lady  and  guests.  There  were 
also  the  bake-house,  brew-house,  stables,  granaries,  ox-stalls, 
pig-sties,  and  other  buildings. 

The  town  houses  had  usually  been  no  higher  than  two 
stories,  but  later  went  up  to  three  or  four  stories  in  height. 
They  often  had  gardens  about  them.  They  were  built  of 
stone,  brick,  or  wood,  sometimes  having  a  cellar  of  stone 
while  the  upper  part  was  wood.  They  were  thatched  with 
straw,  but  often  tiles  were  used.  Thin  horn,  talc,  and  can- 
vas were  placed  across  windows,  but  glass  was  coming  into 
more  common  use,  so  that  many  houses  had  glass  in  their 
windows.  The  rooms  were  lighted  by  candles,  sometimes 
torches  were  used,  the  candles  being  set  in  standing  or  hang- 
ing candlesticks  of  iron,  wood,  or  latten.  The  heating  was 
done  by  a  fire  built  in  the  center  of  the  hall,  the  smoke  es- 
caping through  an  opening  in  the  roof,  or  there  was  a  fire- 
place in  the  corner  or  the  side  of  the  room.  The  fuel  used 
was  wood,  charcoal,  ling,  peat,  or  coal. 

In  the  hall  the  furniture  consisted  of  tables,  seats,  and  a 
cupboard.  In  the  chamber  was  a  bedstead  with  curtains 
around  it  and  the  bedding  consisted  of  a  straw  mattress,  a 
feather  bed,  bolster,  pillows,  sheets,  and  blankets.  There 
were  chairs  in  the  room,  a  table,  and  a  clothes  chest.  The 
walls  were  painted  or  hung  with  tapestry.  The  floors  were 
bare  or  strewn  with  rushes  or  straw,  some  floors  being  of 
tiles,  and  carpets  came  into  use  late  in  the  period. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  277 

Women.  At  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  Christianity 
women  had  reached  a  high  position  at  Rome,  having  great 
freedom,  power,  and  influence.  At  the  first  women  played 
an  important  part  in  the  activities  of  the  Christians,  but 
later  they  were  relegated  to  quite  a  subordinate  place.  The 
old  church  fathers  even  went  farther  and  claimed  that  woman 
was  a  source  of  evil  and  that  she  should  live  in  continual 
penance  on  account  of  the  curses  she  had  brought  upon  the 
world.  So  it  became  her  duty  to  remain  at  home  secluded, 
going  out  into  public  only  when  visiting  the  sick  or  attending 
church,  and  then  she  must  be  veiled.  Nor  should  she  enhance 
her  beauty,  which  was  only  a  snare,  by  dress  but  such  should 
be  simple  and  grave  and  of  plain  color,  not  for  the  purpose 
of  ornament  but  for  protection  alone. 

"The  influence  of  Christianity  tended  at  once  to  elevate 
and  to  narrow  the  position  of  women.  It  elevated  her  posi- 
tion, for,  while  the  pagan  ideal  of  life  is  essentially  masculine, 
the  Christian  ideal  is  in  part  feminine.  Justice,  energy, 
strength,  are  the  pre-eminent  qualities  of  the  pagan  ideal; 
and  mercy,  love,  gentleness,  and  humility,  of  the  Christian. 
The  coincidence  of  the  characteristics  of  Christianity  with 
the  characteristics  of  the  female  heart  resulted  in  the  ele- 
vation of  woman.  This  result  was  also  achieved  in  other 
ways.  In  the  realm  of  the  emotions,  and  especially  of  the 
religious  emotions,  woman  is  superior  to  man.  If  she  is  in- 
ferior to  him  in  her  power  of  apprehending  a  system  of 
truth,  she  is  his  superior  in  respect  to  her  loyalty  to  indi- 
viduals. Christianity  demanded  personal  loyalty  to  a  per- 
sonal Christ  as  the  first  and  comprehensive  condition  of  ad- 
mission to  its  church.  Thus  the  influence  of  Christianity 
ennobled  the  position  of  woman.  This  increased  power  was 
manifest  in  various  ways.  "Women  flocked  to  the  Church  in 
large  numbers,  and  were  important  factors  in  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Empire.  They  embraced  martyrdom  with  un- 
flagging zeal  and  fortitude.  Although  not  usually  admitted 
to  the  priesthood,  they  performed  ecclesiastical  functions  of 
minor  importance.  As  deaconesses — an  order  for  which  may 
justly  be  claimed  apostolic  sanction — they  were  of  peculiar 
usefulness  in  the  great  and  arduous  work  of  charity  and  of 
philanthropy.  Of  the  asceticism  which  so  early  sprang  up 
they  were  ardent  defenders.  In  their  households,  their  influ- 
ence was  more  pervasive  than  in  the  Church.  For  the  con- 
version of  their  husbands  and  sons  and  daughters  they  la- 


278  The  Historical  Child 

bored  with  constancy,  if  not  always  with  wisdom,  and  often 
with  success.  The  wife  of  Theodosius  the  Great  was  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  defenders  of  the  faith.  Augustine 
writes  of  the  influence  of  his  mother  in  the  formation  of  his 
Christian  ehaarcter.  The  mother  of  Constantine  bore  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  conversion  of  her  royal  son.  In  dignity 
and  in  useful  influence,  in  social  rights  and  family  prestige, 
Christianity  tended  to  elevate  the  place  of  woman.  For  force 
or  passion  as  the  basis  of  marriage — elements  which  when 
exercised  degrade  the  husband  more  than  the  wife — was  sub- 
stituted love.  The  New  Testament  teaching  was  the  founda- 
tion of  practice. 

"But  in  one  respect  the  position  of  the  married  woman  was 
narrowed  by  Christianity.  It  has  been  already  noticed,  that 
in  the  civil  marriage  of  the  period  of  the  later  Republic  and 
Empire,  the  wife  remained  in  the  guardianship  of  her  own 
family.  She  did  not  pass  into  the  control  of  her  husband. 
The  consequence  of  this  method  was  that  the  power  of  her 
guardian  became  less  and  less,  and  that  the  power  of  her 
husband  did  not  increase.  She,  therefore,  came  to  occupy 
a  situation  of  great  independence  as  to  both  person  and  prop- 
erty. Against  the  loose  marital  bond  of  the  civil  marriage, 
which  was  indeed  a  mere  species  of  wedlock,  the  Church  ut- 
tered its  protest.  It  was  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  the 
New  Testament;  it  was  opposed  to  Christian  practice.  In 
their  repudiation  of  the  civil  marriage,  the  Christian  moral- 
ists also  repudiated  that  liberty  and  independence  of  the  wife 
which  were  among  its  essential  elements.  Thus  the  legal 
position  of  the  married  woman  was  narrowed  by  the 
Church. "« 

Among  the  early  Germans,  women  were  greatly  respected. 
Woman  was  considered  man's  inferior  only  in  physical  na- 
ture and  this  very  physical  weakness  was  the  one  great  cause 
of  her  being  so  well  respected.  The  wife  was  not  thought 
inferior  to  the  husband  in  morality,  courage,  prudence,  and 
wisdom,  but  his  equal.  Although  this  was  somewhat  changed 
by  contact  with  the  Romans,  yet  it  appears  to  be  the  basis 
for  the  building  of  the  high  honor  paid  to  women  in  chivalry. 
During  the  time  of  feudalism  the  wife  tended  to  become  the 
husband's  peer  and  companion.  In  the  age  of  chivalry  women 
were  held  in  high  esteem,  or  at  least  women  of  the  noble  class, 

•Thwing,  The  family,  56-57. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  279 

and  they  were  subjects  of  great  devotion  by  the  knights  and 
squires. 

During  the  Middle  Ages  many  women  possessed  property 
and  because  of  this  they  had  a  social  standing  they  would 
not  otherwise  have  had.  But  riches  brought  disadvantages 
as  well,  as  heiresses  were  in  danger  of  being  carried  off  and 
compelled  to  marry  their  captors  or  to  give  them  large  sums 
of  money.  If  single  a  woman's  property  was  more  or  less 
under  the  control  of  her  guardian  and  when  married  her 
husband  had  control  of  her  belongings.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  wife  had  a  certain  right  in  her  husband 's  possessions  and 
upon  his  death  she  had  her  portion  as  dower. 

Women  entered  into  industrial  affairs,  as  they  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  many  articles.  They  occupied 
themselves  in  spinning  and  weaving,  in  making  ribbons  and 
laces,  in  making  shoes  and  candles,  and  other  articles;  they 
sold  fruit,  bread,  fish,  poultry,  and  wares  of  different  kind; 
they  were  employed  in  farm  work  and  in  unskilled  labor  such 
as  carrying  clay  and  water,  gathering  moss  and  heath,  and 
waiting  on  thatchers  and  masons.  Women  carried  on  foreign 
commerce,  in  England  exporting  goods  to  France,  Spain,  and 
other  countries.  They  were  permitted  to  become  members  of 
guilds,  although  they  did  not  take  a  very  prominent  part  in 
them. 

Marriage.  In  the  early  Christian  church  marriage  was 
made  to  mean  a  great  deal.  Surrounded  as  the  Christians 
were  by  the  moral  rottenness  of  the  decaying  Roman  state,  it 
became  necessary  for  the  sustenance  of  their  religion  that  the 
marriage  vow  should  be  a  sacred  obligation.  To  this  end 
marriage  became  a  religious  ceremony.  A  Christian  could 
not  marry  a  pagan,  as  this  vow  could  only  be  properly  taken 
between  parties  of  the  same  religious  belief  and  could  thus 
receive  the  benediction  of  the  bishop.  This  idea  of  marriage 
made  chastity  the  all-important  thing  in  woman  and  thus 
created  the  home  and  gave  to  children  a  pure  parenthood  and 
made  childhood  mean  more  to  children  than  the  world  had 
given  before. 

Among  the  Germans,  and  likewise  other  northern  nations 
of  earlier  Europe,  monogamy  was  prevalent  and  almost  the 
universal  practice.  There  was  a  kind  of  purchase  of  the  wife, 
as  the  man  in  the  presence  of  her  parents  offered  a  dowry 
to  the  bride,  which  if  accepted  sealed  the  match.     The  par- 


280  The  Historical  Child 

ties  to  the  contract  both  had  to  be  mature  people,  the  bride- 
groom having  to  be  old  enough  to  be  invested  with  arms  and 
to  become  a  member  of  the  state.  Before  the  woman  could 
marry  she  had  to  have  the  consent  of  her  father  or  nearest 
relative,  and  if  a  widow,  having  been  purchased,  she  had 
to  have  the  approval  of  the  relatives  of  her  deceased  husband. 
"Marriage  ceremonies  (among  Anglo-Saxons)  consisted  in 
the  assemblage  of  friends,  the  consuming  of  the  great  loaf 
(made  by  the  bride  as  an  introduction  into  house-keeping, 
and  the  ancestor  of  our  wedding-cake)  ;  some  special  barrels 
of  beer  were  brewed — the  'bride  ale,'  hence  our  modern 
'bridal.'  This  beer  was  drunk  to  her  health  and  to  that  of 
the  bridegroom  (originally  brydgumma,  bridesman).  The 
Anglo-Saxons  paid  a  regular  sum,  agreed  upon  beforehand, 
to  the  father  before  the  wedding;  the  consent  of  the  lady 
being  obtained,  the  bridegroom  then  gave  his  promise  and 
his  'wed.'  'Nor,'  adds  Sharon  Turner,  'was  this  promise 
trusted  to  his  honor  merely,  or  to  his  own  interest.  The 
female  sex  was  so  much  under  the  protection  of  the  law  that 
the  bridegroom  was  compelled  to  produce  friends  who  be- 
came security  for  his  due  observance  of  the  covenant.'  In 
this  we  have  the  origin  of  'groomsman,'  or  'best  man,'  of 
our  time.  The  parties  being  betrothed,  the  next  step  to  take 
was  to  settle  by  whom  the  fosten-Uan,  or  money  requisite  for 
the  care  of  the  children,  was  to  be  supplied.  The  bridegroom 
pledged  himself  to  do  this;  his  friends  became  security  for 
him.  These  preliminaries  being  arranged,  he  had  to  signify 
what  he  meant  to  give  her  for  choosing  to  be  his  wife,  and 
what  he  should  give  her  in  case  she  survived  him.  This  was 
the  morgen  gifu,  being  given  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  husbands 
to  their  wives  on  the  morning  after  the  wedding.'^  The  old 
law  says  that  it  is  right  that  she  should  halve  the  property, 
or  the  whole  of  it  should  become  hers  if  she  had  children, 
unless  she  married  again.  The  friends  of  the  bridegroom 
became  surety  for  his  conduct  and  those  of  the  bride  for  hers. 
A  priest — when  Christianity  was  introduced — blessed  the 
union ;  and  after  many  points  of  law  had  been  settled  for  the 
protection  of  the  wife  under  all  circumstances,  'her  relations 
wedded  her  to  him.'     But  in  all  these  instances  no  mention 

^Hallam,  Middle  Ages,  II,  179,  quotes  from  Palgrave  the  following, 
coming  under  Norman  times :  ' '  By  the  declaration  of  the  husband  at 
the  church  door,  the  wife  was  endowed  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
relations,  and  before  aU  the  merry  attendants  of  the  bridal  train. ' ' 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  281 

is  made  of  the  wedding-ring,  which  came  later.  The  Eng- 
lish, regarding  the  wife  in  her  capacity  of  ruler  of  the  house- 
hold, placed  a  ring  upon  her  finger  as  a  badge,  not  of  servi- 
tude, but  of  authority,  as  in  the  case  of  the  consort  of 
Ethelred  the  Second,  who  before  receiving  the  crown  was 
anointed  and  distinguished  by  this  symbolic  act  of  adorn- 
ment." * 

There  was  a  time  during  the  Middle  Ages  when  betrothal 
and  even  marriage  took  place  at  a  very  early  age,  even  be- 
tween quite  young  children.  In  England  boys  could  be  mar- 
ried at  fourteen  and  girls  at  twelve,  but  these  ages  were 
sometimes  disregarded  and  children  were  married  at  even 
younger  ages.  Betrothals  were  made  by  parents  or  guardians 
for  children  of  very  young  age,  one  such  case  is  on  record 
as  having  been  entered  into  when  the  little  girl  was  but 
four  years  of  age,  the  child  having  been  given  in  charge  to 
her  future  father-in-law.  This  custom  was  by  far  most  com- 
mon among  the  upper  classes,  for,  as  a  rule,  the  men  and 
women  of  the  middle  classes  did  not  enter  upon  marriage  till 
of  more  mature  age.  These  early  marriages  or  betrothals 
were  probably  the  result  of  guardians  having  under  their 
charge  children  who  were  heirs  and  so  they  arranged  the 
marriage  to  their  own  advantage  or  sold  their  rights  for  a 
sum  of  money,  and  even  parents  were  known  to  have  sold 
the  marriage  of  their  children  to  gain  money. 

The  idea  of  the  early  Christians  that  marriage  should  not 
be  civil  but  religious  gradually  prevailed  till  not  only  was 
the  ceremony  performed  by  the  church  alone,  but  also 
breaches  of  marriage  vows  were  punished  not  by  the  state 
but  by  the  church.  But  this  did  not  prevent  marriage  from 
becoming  a  business  affair,  where  the  material  advantages  to 
be  gained  were  closely  looked  into  and  the  amount  of  prop- 
erty or  money  to  be  gained  on  either  or  both  sides  was  the 
most  important  and  chief  consideration.  Nor  did  this  pre- 
vent informal  marriages,  for  men  and  women  did  join  them- 
selves together  without  priest  or  religious  ceremony  by  a  sim- 
ple declaration  that  they  would  take  each  other  as  husband 
and  wife.  This  was  not  accepted  by  the  church  nor  always 
recognized  by  the  state,  but  such  unions  did  take  place  never- 
theless. 

"  It  is  sometimes  thought  that  in  the  Middle  Ages  men  were 
always  obliged  to  hold  to  their  wives  for  better  or  worse  to 

» Traill,  Social  England,  I,  215-216. 


282  The  Historical  Child 

their  lives'  end.  There  are  some  grounds  for  this  opinion, 
but  it  is  not  quite  correct.  The  Church  did  not  allow  divorce 
in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word ;  that  is  to  say,  she  taught 
that  a  valid  marriage  could  not  be  dissolved ;  but  marriages 
could  be,  and  often  were,  annulled  on  the  ground  that  some 
impediment   existed   which    rendered   them   invalid."^ 

There  was  no  regular  marriage  among  the  serfs  of  the 
earliest  times.  As  marriage  became  more  a  church  ceremony, 
this  institution  established,  about  the  twelfth  century,  the 
legality  of  this  ceremony  among  the  serfs.  This,  of  course, 
caused  difficulties  when  the  serf  of  one  lord  married  the  serf 
of  another,  and  especially  so  when  such  parties  had  children. 
Sometimes  money  satisfied  this,  sometimes  other  marriages, 
and  even  sometimes  the  children  were  divided  among  the 
two  estates. 

Dress.  The  simple  and  beautiful  dress  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  was  displaced  during  the  JMiddle  Ages  by  changing 
costumes,  which  sometimes  were  of  the  most  fantastic  de- 
signs and  colors,  sometimes  ugly,  and  sometimes  beautiful. 
It  is  impossible  to  give  here  in  detail  the  dress  of  all  the 
nations  or  even  in  a  general  way  to  depict  the  changes  that 
took  place,  and  but  one  nation,  England,  will  be  considered, 
and  that  only  in  a  hurried  way. 

The  early  Britons  used  a  mantle  that  covered  the  whole 
body,  which  was  fastened  in  front  wuth  a  clasp  or  with  a  belt 
about  the  waist.  These  mantles  were  of  skins  of  animals,  the 
hair  being  left  on  for  the  outside  of  the  garment.  Some- 
times also  they  wore  a  woolen  jacket.  Their  shoes  were 
made  of  coarse  skins,  the  hair  being  left  for  the  outside  as 
with  the  mantle.  The  women  wore  chains  and  rings  and 
bracelets,  and  their  hair  was  left  loose  upon  the  shoulders 
without  braiding  or  tying. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  had  a  linen  undergarment  over  which 
they  wore  a  linen  or  woolen  tunic,  reaching  to  the  knees, 
with  long,  close  sleeves,  the  tunic  being  fastened  at  the  waist 
with  a  belt.  Over  these  garments  they  wore  a  short  cloak, 
fastened  with  clasps.  They  wrapped  bands  of  cloth,  linen, 
or  leather  about  the  leg  from  the  ankle  to  the  knee,  and  their 
shoes  opened  down  the  instep  and  were  fastened  with  a 
thong.  The  women  wore  a  long,  loose  garment,  like  a  tunic, 
reaching  to  the  ground,  and  over  this  a  mantle.  They 
wrapped  about  the  head  and  neck  a  kind  of  veil  made  of  a 

•  Abram,  English  life  and  manners  in  the  later  middle  ages,  119. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  283 

long  piece  of  silk  or  linen.  The  men  wore  the  hair  and 
beard  long. 

The  Normans  made  quite  a  display  in  dress.  They  wore 
a  long,  close  gown,  reaching  to  the  feet,  often  embroidered 
with  gold  at  the  bottom,  and  fastened  at  the  waist  with  an 
ornamental  girdle.  Over  this  they  wore  a  cloak  with  a  hood, 
fastened  across  the  breast  by  a  gold  or  silver  brooch.  The 
women  wore  a  loose  dress,  trailing  on  the  ground,  with  girdle 
round  the  waist,  and  a  cloak  over  the  dress.  The  men  wore 
their  hair  long,  sometimes  curling  it  like  women,  but  they 
wore  no  beard,  shaving  the  face  clean. 

During  the  Middle  Ages  dress  was  a  distinguishing  mark 
of  very  great  importance.  The  king  needed  to  be  arrayed  in 
gorgeous  robes  of  rich  texture  and  color,  as  his  dignity  re- 
quire such ;  the  city  officers,  in  keeping  with  the  pride  of  the 
city,  must  be  clothed  in  brilliant  attire ;  the  sign  of  power 
and  greatness  of  the  nobles  was  displayed  in  the  showy 
livery  of  their  retainers ;  and  the  uniform  of  the  craft-guilds 
was  a  badge  of  their  importance  in  the  life  of  the  people 
and  of  the  nation.  During  the  most  of  this  period  there 
was  great  luxury  in  dress  among  the  noble  and  wealthy. 
Silks,  satins,  velvets,  scarlet  cloths,  fine  cloths  of  gold  and 
silver,  and  rich  furs  were  used  in  the  apparel  of  both  sexes, 
and  not  only  was  the  finest  and  best  of  their  own  land  used, 
but  also  fine  materials  were  brought  in  from  other  countries. 
Not  only  was  the  clothing  very  costly,  but  also  there  was  a 
striving  for  a  large  amount,  so  that  the  expenditure  for 
dress  was  very  great. 

The  men  dressed  as  fanciful  and  elaborately  as  did  the 
women  and  the  styles  changed  quite  as  often  and  as  dif- 
ferently. At  one  time  they  wore  a  close-fitting  tunic  with 
tight  or  short  sleeves  and  a  short  cloak ;  at  a  later  time  they 
wore  a  long  gown  with  long,  full  sleeves,  and  again  their 
clothing  was  padded,  the  shoulders  being  made  as  broad  as 
possible.  Sometimes  the  colors  of  the  garments  would  be  of 
one  hue  or  well  matched,  and  again  there  would  be  one  gar- 
ment of  one  color  and  another  of  an  entirely  different  color, 
and  even  the  parts  of  the  same  garment  would  not  be  of  the 
same  color.  "A  dandy  of  the  fourteenth  century  is  thus 
described:  'He  wore  long  pointed  shoes,  fastened  to  his  knees 
by  gold  or  silver  chains;  hose  of  one  color  on  one  leg,  and 
of  another  color  on  the  other.  Short  breeches,  not  reaching 
to  the  middle  of  the  thigh;  a  coat,  one-half  white,  and  the 


284  The  Historical  Child 

other  half  black  or  blue ;  a  long  beard,  a  silk  band  buttoned 
under  his  chin,  embroidered  with  grotesque  figures  of  ani- 
mals, dancing  men,  etc.,  and  sometimes  ornamented  with 
gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones. '  "  ^o 

The  women  wore  long  dresses  reaching  to  the  ground  and 
sometimes  with  long  trains.  At  times  the  bodices  fit  closely 
and  were  low  in  the  neck,  while  in  another  time  the  body 
was  encased  in  whalebone  to  the  hips  and  the  shoulders 
supported  an  enormous  ruff,  as  much  as  three  feet  or  more 
in  width.  Men  also  wore  the  ruff.  The  ladies  used  paint  on 
their  faces  and  adorned  them  with  black  patches  as  "beauty 
spots. ' ' 

Men  and  women  of  the  working  classes  dressed  more  sim- 
ply than  the  upper  classes,  usually  wearing  short  tunics  with 
small  sleeves  and  with  hoods  for  outdoors.  But  they,  too, 
dressed  up  for  special  occasions  and  at  times  they  were  ar- 
rayed in  highly-colored  and  costly  garments  and  even  at  times 
vied  with  the  upper  classes,  in  spite  of  laws  passed  to  pre- 
vent people  from  dressing  above  their  stations. 

Children  were  clothed  in  about  the  same  manner  and  the 
same  styles  as  their  elders,  their  being  no  great  distingushing 
marks  in  the  dress  of  the  younger  and  older  people. 

The  girdles,  which  were  so  necessarily  an  important  part 
of  the  dress,  were  often  highly  ornamental  and  very  costly. 
They  were  sometimes  made  of  silk,  lined  with  fine  leather, 
and  ornamented  with  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones. 
The  garments  of  both  men  and  women  were  at  times  em- 
broidered, having  armorial  dcAaces,  mottoes,  initials  of  the 
owners,  and  other  designs.  They  were  also  lined  and  trimmed 
with  fur,  many  kinds  of  fur  being  used. 

The  men  wore  their  hair  long  and  then  again  very  short; 
it  was  cut  oft'  short  at  the  forehead  and  at  another  time  al- 
lowed to  grow  long  till  it  almost  fell  into  the  eyes.  Some- 
times they  wore  a  full  beard  and  sometimes  they  were  clean 
shaved.  At  a  late  time  in  the  period  wigs  came  into  use,  and 
they  were  thought  to  be  indispensable  by  every  man  of  social 
standing.  They  wore  hoods  and  then  caps  and  hats  of  vari- 
ous styles.  The  women  wore  their  hair  loose  down  the  back 
or  braided  and  coiled  and  put  into  a  net  of  gold  wire.  At 
one  time  great  headdresses  were  the  fashion,  one  style  rising 
up  horn-like  from  the  head,  another  being  like  a  steeple, 
running  to  a  high  point.    There  were  also  heart-shaped  erec- 

"Dean,  History  of  civilization,  VI,  203. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  285 

tions,  turban-shaped,  crescent-shaped,  one  like  an  inverted 
lamp-shade,  and  still  another  shaped  like  a  butterfly. 

Shoes  were  of  various  styles,  one  style  having  very  sharp- 
pointed  toes  and  even  projecting  far  beyond  the  foot  and 
then  turned  up  and  fastened  to  the  knee  with  a  silver  or 
gold  chain.  Then  the  shoes  were  changed  from  length  to 
breadth,  till  Parliament  passed  a  law  limiting  the  width  of 
the  toes  to  six  inches.  There  was  one  kind  made  of  fine, 
soft  leather  cut  into  beautiful  designs  and  worn  over  bright- 
colored  stockings  that  showed  through  the  openings. 

Jewelry  was  used  quite  a  great  deal.  Caps  and  girdles 
and  other  garments  were  sometimes  decorated  with  precious 
stones.  They  wore  chains  about  the  neck  with  pendants  in 
the  shape  of  crosses,  medallions,  and  the  like.  Reliquaries 
(little  cases  containing  relics)  were  also  sometimes  hung  on 
neck-chains.  There  were  beads  of  gold  and  silver  and  ivory. 
Brooches  and  clasps  and  rings  of  gold  and  silver  studded 
with  jewels  were  quite  common  and  other  jewelry  was  worn. 

"Very  extraordinary  ideas  were  current  as  to  the  prop- 
erties of  jewels;  talismanic  and  medicinal  powers  were  at- 
tributed to  many  of  them — it  was  thought  that  the  jaspar, 
agate,  and  toad-stone  neutralized  or  detected  poisons,  that 
pearls  dissolved  in  powder  cured  stomachic  complaints,  and 
that  coral  acted  as  a  charm.  Great  importance  was  attached 
to  engraving,  because  it  was  held  that  if  a  gem  were  en- 
graved by  a  skilful  person  under  the  right  planetary  influ- 
ence its  virtue  was  greatly  increased.  If,  for  example,  an 
engraving  depicting  Ophinclius,  the  constellation  which  had 
the  power  of  resisting  poison,  were  cut  on  an  agate  its  effi- 
ciency would  be  doubled.  Even  substances  which  had  in 
themselves  no  talismanic  qualities  could  acquire  them  if  they 
were  inscribed  with  words  or  symbols  possessing  them,  and 
consequently  sacred  names  and  mystic  signs  were  frequently 
placed  not  only  upon  gems,  but  also  upon  all  kinds  of 
jewelry,  and  sometimes  upon  other  things,  such  as  drinking 
cups,  as  well."  " 

Food.  Eating  and  drinking  was  a  most  important  function 
of  the  middle  ages.  Banquets  were  held  to  celebrate  great 
events  and  feasting  occurred  on  all  occasions,  both  public  and 
private.  Good  things  to  eat  were  so  well  thought  of  that  it 
was  the  custom  to  send  gifts  of  food  to  friends  and  patrons 
and  the  very  highest  in  the  land,  as  was  often  shown  in 

"Abram,  English  life  and  manners  in  the  late  middle  ages,  167. 


286  The  Historical  Child 

England,  did  not  think  it  undignified  to  give  or  to  receive 

such  presents,  from  whomever  they  might  come.  Towns  in 
order  to  gain  favors  would  send  out  as  presents  large  quan- 
tities of  food  to  royal  personages,  and  loyalty  shown  by 
towns  and  individuals  was  sometimes  rewarded  by  the  king 
in  the  same  way. 

As  artificial  light  was  hard  to  get,  the  meals  were  usually 
partaken  of  during  daylight.  The  cooks  of  the  time  showed 
great  skill  in  the  preparation  of  foods  and  in  decorating  their 
dishes,  being  fond  of  coloring  all  kinds  of  food  and  display- 
ing branches  and  flowers  about  the  food  and  table.  The  table 
was  covered  with  a  cloth  and  each  guest  furnished  with  a 
napkin,  knife,  and  spoon  but  no  fork,  the  fingers  being  used 
instead.  Good  manners  prohibited  the  putting  of  the  knife 
into  the  mouth,  but  it  was  all  right  to  dip  sops  or  morsels 
into  soups  or  sauces,  and  it  was  a  mark  of  good  breeding  to 
be  able  to  carry  such  to  the  mouth  without  letting  any  drops 
fall  upon  the  tablecloth  or  the  person. 

There  were  many  different  kinds  of  bread;  among  the 
meats  were  beef  and  pork,  poultry  and  game  of  all  sorts, 
among  such  eaten  being  peacocks,  gulls,  swans,  herons,  and 
cranes;  many  varieties  of  fish  were  to  be  had;  there  were 
many  different  kinds  of  fruits  and  vegetables  used,  among 
the  fruits  being  quinces,  pears,  cherries,  strawberries,  apples, 
peaches,  plums,  and  grapes,  and  of  the  vegetables,  peas,  leeks, 
cabbages,  onions,  turnips,  parsnips,  and  beets.  Soups  and 
broths  were  very  common,  and  the  mixing  of  ingredients  in 
dishes  was  much  in  use,  as,  meat  was  cut  up  into  small  pieces, 
boiled,  ground  in  a  mortar,  passed  through  a  strainer,  and 
then  mixed  with  spice,  salt,  sugar  or  honey,  almonds,  dates, 
raisins,  and  grated  bread,  all  being  blended  together  with  the 
yolk  of  eggs. 

The  poorer  classes  sometimes  fared  badly,  but  usually  in 
England  the  peasants  had  sufficient  food,  although  often  of 
the  cheaper  sort  and  not  of  great  variety.  "The  methods 
of  preparing  the  raw  material  for  baking  differed  in  various 
parts  of  this  island.  For  a  very  long  period  it  was  imperative 
on  the  manorial  populations  in  both  England  and  Scotland 
that  they  should  take  their  corn  to  be  ground  at  the  lord's 
mill.  But  when  this  regulation  fell  into  disuse,  all  sorts  of 
contrivances  for  grinding  crept  in.  The  most  primitive  was 
undoubtedly  that  of  the  Highland  peasant.  The  first  process 
was  the  separation  of  the  grain  from  the  ear.    This  was  not 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  287 

threshed,  but  graddaned — that  is  to  say,  it  was  burned  out 
of  the  ear  in  much  the  same  fashion  as  the  parched  corn  of 
Boaz.  Either  whole  sheaves  or  several  ears  were  fired  on  the 
cottage  floor.  Though  the  burning  of  the  entire  sheaf  was 
the  most  expeditious  process,  it  was  a  sad  waste  of  manure 
and  thatch.  Sometimes  oats  were  beaten  out  of  the  straw 
with  a  rude  mallet,  and  kiln-dried.  But  usually  both  they 
and  barley  underwent  the  burning  treatment.  The  house- 
wife knelt  before  the  fire,  holding  a  few  stalks  in  her  left 
hand.  Setting  the  ears  alight,  she  deftly  beat  out  the  grain 
with  a  stick,  just  when  the  husk  was  quite  consumed.  The 
grains,  blackened  like  coal,  were  picked  off  the  floor  with  the 
hand  and  placed  in  the  quern.  This  consisted  of  two  stones, 
11/2  ft.  in  diameter,  the  lower  slightly  convex,  the  upper 
slightly  concave.  In  the  middle  of  each  was  a  round  hole, 
and  on  one  side  of  it  a  long  handle.  The  Scotch  housewife 
shed  the  grain  into  the  hole  with  one  hand,  and  worked  the 
handle  round  with  the  other.  The  corn  slid  down  the  con- 
vexity of  the  lower  stone,  and  by  the  motion  of  the  upper  one 
was  ground  in  the  passage. "  ^^  "  Hasty  pudding  was  a  great 
favorite  among  the  poorer  sort.  Indeed,  all  spoon  meat  of  a 
sweet  description  was  popular,  as  Houghton  proves  by  a  de- 
lightful little  anecdote.  Two  Norfolk  boys  once  were  over- 
heard discussing  the  kind  of  treat  in  which  either  of  them 
would  indulge  if  he  became  King  of  England.  The  one  de- 
cided that  he  would  have  pudding  every  day  for  dinner ;  the 
other  burst  into  tears,  because  his  comrade's  wish  had  left 
him  nothing  good  from  which  to  choose."" 

Children  of  the  Ancient  Britons.  "It  seems  to  have  been 
the  custom  of  the  Celts  to  plunge  their  new-born  infants 
ifito  some  lake  or  river  in  order  to  try  the  firmness  of  their 
constitutions  and  to  harden  their  bodies — this  even  in  the 
winter  season.  The  Scandinavians  used,  it  is  said,  to  pour 
water  upon  the  heads  of  their  children  as  soon  as  they  were 
born,  and  this  long  before  the  introduction  of  Christianity; 
but  there  is  no  certainty  that  this  custom  was  observed  in 
Britain.  Before  the  introduction  of  Christianity  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  northern  part  of  Britain  did  not  give  names,  it  is 
said,  to  their  sons  before  they  had  performed  some  brave  ac- 
tion, or  given  some  indication  of  their  disposition  and  char- 
acter.    .     .     . 

"  Gamier,  Annals  of  the  British  peasantry,  196. 

"I6id.,  201. 


288  The  Historical  Child 

"The  early  British  matron,  even  of  the  highest  rank,  al- 
ways nursed  her  infants,  and  would  have  resented  in  the 
greatest  degree  the  delegation  of  this  parental  office  to  an- 
other woman.  We  know  little  of  the  bringing  up  of  the  chil- 
dren. There  is  a  story  of  Solinus  to  the  effect  that  his  first 
morsel  of  food  was  put  into  the  infant's  mouth  on  the  point 
of  the  father's  sword,  with  a  prayer  that  he  might  prove 
a  great  and  brave  warrior  and  die  on  the  field  of  battle. 
This  seems  more  likely  to  apply  to  the  races  who  succeeded 
them  and  the  Roman  occupation  than  to  the  veritable  Britons. 
.  .  .  The  Ancient  Britons  were  accustomed  almost  from 
infancy  to  handle  arms  and  to  sing  the  glorious  actions  of 
their  ancestors.  The  young  were  thus  inspired  to  feats  of 
strength  and  to  be  engaged  in  war.  As  they  advanced  in 
years  they  were,  while  being  instructed  in  martial  exercises, 
also  taught  that  everything  in  life  depended  on  their  valor 
— the  praises  of  the  bards,  the  favor  of  the  great,  and  the 
applause  of  the  people,  and  that  happiness  after  death  was 
the  reward  only  of  those  who  were  daring  in  war.  It  may 
be  considered  certain  that  the  youth  of  Britain  at  this  period 
were  not  delicately  nurtured;  a  rough  and  hardy  people 
would  not  educate  their  children  in  a  manner  unfitting  for 
their  surroundings  and  way  of  life,  and  doubtless — as  in  Ger- 
many— the  families  of  the  nobler  sort  were  brought  up  with 
no  more  delicacy  or  tenderness  than  the  common  people. 
Tacitus  says  of  the  Germans,  'In  every  house  you  see  the 
little  boys,  the  sons  of  lords  and  peasants,  equally  sordid  and 
ill-clothed,  lying  and  playing  promiscuously  together  on  the 
ground  and  among  the  cattle,  without  any  visible  distinction. 
In  this  manner  they  grow  up  to  that  prodigious  strength 
which  we  behold  with  admiration.'  The  sons  of  the  ancient 
Germans,  Gauls,  and  Britains  of  all  ranks  were  allowed  to 
run,  wrestle,  jump,  swim,  climb,  and  to  engage  in  vigorous 
exercises  at  their  will  and  without  restraint  until  they  ap- 
proached manhood.  To  this  continued  exercise,  together  with 
the  simplicity  of  their  diet,  is  ascribed  by  Cfesar  the  great 
strength  of  body  and  boldness  of  spirit  to  which  these  na- 
tions attained.  Ca?sar  says  that  when  the  youth  of  Germany, 
Gaul,  and  Britain  began  to  approach  the  manly  age,  some 
more  attention  seems  to  have  been  paid  to  them  by  the  public 
and  their  parents  than  previouslj^,  for  when  the  son  was 
younger  it  was  accounted  a  shame  for  a  father  to  be  seen  in 
his  company.     Children  who  were  designed  for  the  priestly 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  289 

order  were  then  put  under  the  direction  of  the  Druids  for 
their  instruction  in  the  sciences  and  in  the  prmciples  of  law, 
morality,  and  religion,  while  those  who  were  intended  for  a 
warlike  life — according  to  Ctesar — had  arms  put  into  their 
hands  by  their  fathers,  or  nearest  kinsmen,  in  a  public  as- 
sembly of  the  warriors  of  the  state  or  clan.  Some  vestiges 
of  this  custom  continued  till  later  times — especially  with  re- 
spect to  the  eldest  sons  of  the  lairds  or  chieftains — in  some 
parts  of  the  Highlands  and  western  isles  of  Scotland."" 

Children  among"  the  Early  Cihristians.  The  old  church 
fathers  were  so  much  given  to  ascetism  that  it  would  appear 
as  if  there  was  really  an  antagonism  to  marriage  in  their 
time  and  which  must  have  had  a  great  influence  on  family 
life.  Donaldson  states  ^^  that  children  are  seldom  men- 
tioned in  the  Christian  writings  of  the  second  and  third  cen- 
turies, and  that  almost  nothing  is  said  of  their  training,  as 
if  there  were  but  litle  attention  given  to  their  instruction. 
And  yet  infants  were  considered  with  a  much  higher  stand- 
ard than  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  for,  as  given  in  the 
chapters  dealing  with  children  among  these  nations,  infanti- 
cide was  practiced  by  them,  as  the  father  had  the  right  to 
expose  his  children,  so  that  infants  on  their  birth  might  be 
abandoned  and  left  to  perish,  and  this  was  particularly  the 
case  with  weakly  and  deformed  children  and  often  with  fe- 
male children  without  blemish.  From  the  very  first  Chris- 
tianity condemned  the  practice  and  denounced  it  as  murder. 
They  even  went  further,  for  the  church  forbid  the  practice 
of  the  destruction  of  children  before  birth.  Thus  Christian- 
ity protected  the  lives  of  infants  and  especially  of  female 
infants. 

Child  and  Parent.  In  England  at  least  there  did  not  at 
times  seem  to  have  been  a  great,  strong  affection  between 
parents  and  children.  This  may  have  been  caused  in  part 
from  the  custom  of  boarding  out  the  children  or  sending  them 
out  to  be  servants  or  ladies-in-waiting  to  the  persons  with 
whom  they  were  sent  to  live,  as  children  who  would  thus  go 
out  from  parents  at  an  early  age  and  not  getting  to  see  them 
often  would  not  have  the  opportunity  of  showing  affection 
for  them  and  they  would  naturally  take  up  with  the  people 
with  whom  they  came  in  daily  contact.  The  children  who 
were  sent  to  boarding-school  were  there  throughout  the  en- 

"  Traill,  Social  England,  I,  106-108. 
"Donaldson,  Woman,  180. 


290  The  Historical  Child 

tire  year,  being  at  home  only  a  few  days  at  a  time,  on  holi- 
days. Another  cause  for  the  lack  of  affection  between  par- 
ents and  children  may  have  been  from  the  custom  of  the 
remarriage  of  parents,  the  new  husband  or  the  new  wife 
drawing  the  affection  away  from  the  children.  Although  the 
children  showed  outward  respect  to  their  parents,  which  was 
well  portrayed  in  the  letters  they  wrote  to  them,  yet  it  would 
seem  there  was  not  so  deep  an  inward  respect. 

Care  and  Treatment  of  Children.  Children  were  brought 
up  quite  strictly  during  the  Middle  Ages.  They  were  punished 
very  much,  minor  offenses  often  bringing  a  severe  punish- 
ment, for  it  was  held  that  every  child  needed  correction  and 
that  quite  frequently.  The  children  of  the  poor  were  usually 
put  to  work  when  very  young  and  had  to  undergo  much 
suffering.  Orphans  had  the  hardest  lot  of  all,  for  if  parents 
cared  so  little  for  their  own  children  and  often  neglected 
them,  they  would  care  still  less  for  the  children  of  other 
people,  and  so  would  neglect  them  or  treat  them  cruelly. 
If  the  orphans  were  heirs,  they  were  often  despoiled  of  their 
possessions  by  their  guardians  or  married  to  parties  unfit  for 
them  in  order  to  have  control  of  their  estate.  Of  course,  all 
parents  were  not  lacking  in  affection  and  all  guardians  were 
not  knaves.  Yet  it  would  seem  that  children  during  the 
Middle  Ages  did  not  have  the  happiest  of  times  and  they  often 
lived  miserable  lives. 

Apprenticeship.  There  arose  during  the  Middle  Ages  a  be- 
lief that  every  child  should  be  trained  to  do  something.  As 
was  stated  under  feudalism,  it  was  the  custom  for  boys  of 
the  upper  classes  to  be  sent  into  the  homes  of  nobles  and 
churchmen  to  serve  a  number  of  years  in  order  to  become 
learned  in  chivalry  and  to  acquire  the  use  of  arms.  In  like 
manner  there  grew  up  for  the  boys  of  the  common  classes 
the  apprenticeship  system,  whereby  they  were  placed  under 
a  master  to  spend  a  number  of  years  to  learn  a  trade  or  to 
carry  on  agriculture. 

It  was  held,  at  least  in  England,  that  all  able-bodied  men 
should  work  and  to  that  end  they  should  be  trained  as  boys, 
so  that  when  grown  up  they  would  be  able  to  work  at  a 
trade  or  farming  and  therebj^  earn  their  own  living  and  not 
become  a  burden  upon  the  state.  During  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury it  became  a  law  that  every  child  should  have  such  train- 
ing as  would  fit  him  for  business  or  a  calling.  Some  were 
apprenticed  to  trades  and  some  to  agriculture.     If  a  parent 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  291 

could  prove  that  he  was  able  to  furnish  a  maintenance  for 
his  children  they  were  not  apprenticed,  but  otherwise,  if  the 
children  were  found  to  be  growing  up  in  idleness,  the  authori- 
ties had  the  power  to  apprentice  them. 

There  was  a  fee  charged  for  apprenticeship  to  a  trade, 
sometimes  only  an  entrance  fee  and  again  an  annual  due, 
but  not  very  large  in  either  case.  The  term  of  service  varied, 
in  France  being  from  three  to  thirteen  years,  while  in  Eng- 
land it  generally  lasted  seven  years.  The  apprentice  prob- 
ably secured  no  pay  at  any  time,  but  was  cared  for  by  the 
master  in  the  way  of  food,  lodging,  clothing,  and  other  needs. 
After  he  had  completed  his  years  of  service,  the  apprentice 
became  a  journeyman  and  then  entered  regularly  into  the 
trade,  receiving  wages  for  his  labor.  In  the  earlier  times  the 
journeyman  could  easily  become  a  master,  but  later  when 
capital  began  to  be  amassed  and  the  carrying  on  of  the 
manufacture  of  goods  required  much  capital,  the  journey- 
man did  not  have  very  good  opportunity  for  becoming  a 
master.  In  the  early  days  master,  journeyman,  and  appren- 
tice all  lived  and  worked  together  and  were  in  the  same  guild, 
and  so  there  was  not  any  great  separation  among  them.  But 
later  when  a  large  amount  of  capital  was  required  to  carry 
on  business  and  a  large  number  of  men  used,  there  became 
a  wide  difference  between  master  and  workmen  and  strife 
grew  up  betwen  them  and  journeymen  formed  guilds  for 
themselves  alone,  which  guilds  were  sometimes  suppressed  by 
the  authorities.  Such  a  guild  came  in  time  to  prohibit  aliens 
from  becoming  apprentices,  and  thus  from  learning  the  trade, 
and  even  to  restricting  apprenticeship  to  the  children  and 
relatives  of  its  members  who  were  working  in  the  trade. 

Military  Training  for  the  Young.  In  order  to  bring  back 
the  old  military  training  in  England,  in  1511  an  act  was 
passed  "that  every  man  being  the  king's  subject,  not  lame, 
decrepit,  or  maimed,  being  within  the  age  of  sixty  years, 
except  spiritual  men,  justices  of  the  one  bench  and  of  the 
other,  justices  of  the  assize,  and  barons  of  the  exchequer,  do 
use  and  exercise  shooting  in  long  bows,  and  also  do  have  a 
bow  and  arrows  ready  continually  in  his  house,  to  use  him- 
self in  shooting.  And  that  every  man  having  a  man  child 
or  men  cihldren  in  his  house,  shall  provide  for  all  such,  being 
of  the  age  of  seven  years  and  above,  and  till  they  shall  come 
to  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  a  bow  and  two  shafts,  to  learn 
them  and  bring  them  up  in  shooting;  and  after  such  young 


292  The  Historical  Child 

men  shall  come  to  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  every  one  of 
them  shall  provide  and  have  a  bow  and  four  arrows  con- 
tinually for  himself,  at  his  proper  costs  and  charges,  or  else 
of  the  gift  and  provision  of  his  friends,  and  shall  use  the 
same  as  afore  is  rehearsed. "  ^^ 

Amusements.  The  people  of  medieval  times  were  much 
given  to  amusements.  This  was  particularly  true  of  the  peo- 
ple of  England  and  what  follows  here  is  for  the  most  part 
about  that  country. 

The  greatest  pastime  of  the  nobility  was  that  of  war,  and 
the  joust  and  the  tournament  were  the  most  attractive  amuse- 
ments because  they  most  resembled  war.  The  young  men  en- 
gaged in  a  sport  known  as  tilting  at  quintain,  which  was  de- 
signed to  prepare  them  for  warfare.  The  figure  of  a  Saracen 
with  a  saber  or  club  in  its  right  hand  and  a  shield  on  the 
left  arm  was  hung  up  so  that  it  would  turn  about  very 
radily.  A  young  man  on  horseback  with  a  lance  or  some- 
thing similar,  as  in  a  joust,  would  ride  at  the  figure  and 
strive  to  strike  it  between  the  eyes  or  on  the  nose,  for  if 
some  other  part  was  struck  the  figure  would  be  turned  round 
so  as  to  give  the  rider  a  blow  on  the  back  with  the  saber  or 
club,  which  not  only  brought  a  laugh  at  his  expense,  but 
also  helped  to  teach  the  young  candidate  for  knighthood  to 
aim  accurately  another  time.  This  was  practiced  on  other 
objects,  as,  tilting  at  a  tree  or  post  or  at  a  ring.  Another 
military  exercise  was  throwing  the  spear  or  javelin,  which 
might  be  at  the  quintain  or  some  other  object  or  to  throw 
it  to  the  greatest  distance.  Learning  to  throw  with  the  sling 
was  also  another  military  exercise.  Another  great  sport  in 
the  early  times  of  this  period  was  that  of  archery.  Foot- 
races took  place  and  likewise  wrestling. 

Hunting  has  ever  been  a  great  sport  in  England.  The 
ancient  Britons  were  hunters,  as  were  the  Saxons  and  also 
the  Danes  in  England.  But  it  remained  for  the  Normans 
to  bring  hunting  to  a  system,  for  they  were  not  content  to 
hunt  in  an  open  country,  but  took  up  thousands  of  acres  and 
enclosed  them  in  parks  and  stocked  them  with  game  and  pro- 
hibited the  common  people  from  hunting  within  them,  pass- 
ing severe  laws  against  such.  There  was  a  form  of  hunting 
that  is  most  striking  and  became  a  great  rage,  which  was 
hawking  or  falconry.  This  was  greatly  indulged  in  by  both 
men   and   women  and  the  birds  they  used  for  taking  the 

"JProude,  History  of  England,  I,  70. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  293 

other  birds  were  highly  trained  and  brought  great  prices. 
This  was  the  sport  of  the  gentility  and  common  people  were 
not  at  all  allowed  to  partake  of  it.  Fishing  was  another 
sport,  as  was  horse-racing  and  bull-baiting  and  cock-fighting. 
Throwing  at  cocks  was  another  brutal  amusement,  wherein  a 
heavy  stick  was  thrown  at  a  bird  and  if  knocked  over  it 
belonged  to  the  thrower  if  he  could  run  and  catch  it  before 
it  could  get  to  its  feet. 

The  people  managed  so  as  to  get  quite  a  bit  of  pleasure 
out  of  their  religion.  One  pastime  was  the  wakes.  On  an 
evening  preceding  a  saint 's  day  the  people  went  with  lighted 
candles  to  the  church,  which  was  originally  for  the  purpose 
of  worship,  but  later  it  came  to  be  a  time  for  dancing  and 
singing  and  eating,  hawkers  and  peddlers  congregating  about 
the  church  to  serve  the  crowd.  Another  church  affair  was 
the  church  ales.  The  church  officials  would  brew  a  large 
quantity  of  ale  before  a  holiday  when  there  would  be 
gatherings  of  people  who  bought  and  drank  the  ale,  the 
profits  being  used  for  the  good  of  the  church.  Another 
amusement  was  hocking,  which  took  place  on  the  IMonday  or 
Tuesday  following  the  second  Sunday  after  Easter.  Men 
would  hold  a  rope  across  a  road  and  take  toll  of  every  woman 
passing  or  else  women  would  have  charge  of  the  rope  and 
collect  toll  off  the  men,  the  receipts  going  into  the  church 
treasury.  The  miracle  and  morality  plays  and  the  like,  too, 
though  intended  as  a  means  of  instruction,  became  really  a 
form  of  amusement  for  the  masses. 

Christmas  was  a  great  time  for  merry-making.  One  of  the 
affairs  at  the  time  was  mumming.  Masks  were  used  and  dis- 
guises put  on  so  as  to  impersonate  all  kinds  of  people  and 
even  animals.  These  mummers  would  make  calls  on  people 
and  sometimes  even  on  high  personages,  making  their  en- 
trances and  exits  without  saying  anything.  May-day  was  a 
great  occasion.  Upon  this  day  the  houses  would  be  deco- 
rated with  flowers  and  branches  from  trees.  There  would  be 
the  dance  about  the  May-pole  and  many  games  and  plays. 
There  were  fair  days,  when  people  came  together  for  traffic 
and  for  sports.  There  were  sack  races  for  the  young  men 
and  smock  races  for  the  young  women.  Also  there  were 
wheelbarrow  races  and  other  kinds  of  races  and  contests. 
One  such  contest  was  the  grinning  match,  where  each  per- 
son in  the  contest  would  thrust  his  head  through  a  horse's 
collar  and  they  would  then  vie  with  one  another  in  grinning. 


294  The  Historical  Child 

In  the  yawning  match,  they  would  wait  till  late  at  night  when 
all  were  tired  and  sleepy  and  then  each  would  try  to  yawn 
the  greatest.  The  one  that  yawned  the  widest  and  the  most 
naturally  and  would  thereby  cause  the  most  yawns  from  all 
present  would  win  the  prize. 

It  was  a  custom  during  this  period  for  kings  and  great 
nobles  to  have  Fools,  who  were  the  butt  of  all  and  who  made 
all  the  butt  of  their  jokes.  They  also  kept  minstrels  in  their 
households.  Sometimes  these  minstrels  played  on  different 
kinds  of  musical  instruments  and  formed  a  musical  band. 
Among  the  musical  instruments  were  the  ruible  (a  two- 
stringed  instrument  played  with  a  bow),  the  veille  (an  in- 
strument somewhat  like  a  violin),  the  gitern  (a  kind  of 
guitar),  the  harp,  bagpipe,  trumpet,  pipe,  lute,  dulcimer, 
tambourine,  and  cymbals.  There  were  a  number  of  other 
kinds  of  entertainers,  as,  acrobats,  rope-walkers,  jugglers, 
contortionists,  and  conjurers.  There  was  wire-dancing,  rope- 
dancing,  ballet-dancing,  and  sword-dancing.  There  were  dan- 
cing bears  and  trained  monkeys.  There  were  entertainers 
who  disguised  themselves  as  birds  and  other  animals  and 
imitated  their  actions  and  cries.  Dancing  was,  also,  an  amuse- 
ment of  the  middle  ages  and  it  was  indulged  in  by  the  no- 
bility and  all  classes  of  the  people. 

There  were  plays  acted  in  the  castles  and  the  towns  and 
the  colleges  and  the  schools  and  even  in  the  churches  in  the 
way  of  mysteries  and  moralities.  There  were  strolling  bands 
of  players  that  attended  wakes  and  fairs  and  played  in  barns 
and  taverns  and  even  in  the  farmhouse  kitchen,  wherever 
they  might  find  place.  "I  shall  transcribe  out  of  Hall  a 
description  of  a  play  which  was  acted  by  the  boys  of  St. 
Paul's  School,  in  1527,  at  Greenwich.  The  occasion  was 
the  despatch  of  a  French  embassy  to  England,  when  Europe 
was  outraged  by  the  Duke  of  Bourbon's  capture  of  Rome, 
when  the  children  of  Francis  I.  were  prisoners  in  Spain,  ^nd 
Henry,  with  the  full  energy  of  his  fiery  nature,  was  flinging 
himself  into  a  quarrel  with  Charles  V.  as  the  champion  of 
the  Holy  See. 

"At  the  conclusion  of  a  magnificent  supper  'the  king  led 
the  ambassadors  into  the  great  chamber  of  disguisings;  and 
in  the  end  of  the  same  chamber  was  a  fountain,  and  on  one 
side  was  a  hawthorne  tree,  all  of  silk,  with  white  flowers,  and 
on  the  other  side  was  a  mulberry  tree  full  of  fair  berries, 
all  of  silk.     On  the  top  of  the  hawthorne  were  the  arms  of 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  295 

England,  compassed  with  the  collar  of  the  order  of  St. 
Michael,  and  in  the  top  of  the  mulberry  tree  stood  the  arms 
of  France  within  a  garter.  The  fountain  was  all  of  white 
marble,  graven  and  chased;  the  bases  of  the  same  were  balls 
of  gold,  supported  by  ramping  beasts  wound  in  leaves  of 
gold.  In  the  first  work  were  gargoylles  of  gold,  fiercely 
laced,  with  spouts  running.  The  second  conceit  of  this  foun- 
tain was  environed  with  winged  serpents,  all  of  gold,  which 
griped  it ;  and  on  the  summit  of  the  same  was  a  fair  lady, 
out  of  whose  breasts  ran  abundantly  water  of  marvellous  de- 
licious savour.  About  this  fountain  were  benches  of  rose- 
mary, fretted  in  braydes  laid  on  gold,  all  the  sides  set  with 
roses,  on  branches  as  they  were  growing  about  this  fountain. 
On  the  benches  sate  eight  fair  ladies  in  strange  attire,  and 
so  richly  apparelled  in  cloth  of  gold,  embroidered  and  cut 
over  silver,  that  I  cannot  express  the  cunning  workmanship 
thereof.  Then  when  the  king  and  queen  were  set,  there  was 
played  before  them,  by  children,  in  the  Latin  tongue,  a  man- 
ner of  tragedy,  the  effect  whereof  was  that  the  pope  was  in 
captivity  and  the  church  brought  under  foot.  Whereupon 
St.  Peter  appeared  and  put  the  cardinal  (Wolsey)  in  author- 
ity to  bring  the  pope  to  his  liberty,  and  to  set  up  the  church 
again.  And  so  the  cardinal  made  intercession  with  the  kings 
of  England  and  France  that  they  took  part  together,  and 
by  their  means  the  pope  was  delivered.  Then  in  came  the 
French  king's  children,  and  complained  to  the  cardinal  how 
the  emperour  kept  them  as  hostages,  and  would  not  come  to 
reasonable  point  with  their  father,  whereupon  they  desired 
the  cardinal  to  help  for  their  deliverance ;  which  wrought  so 
with  the  king  his  master  and  the  French  king  that  he  brought 
the  emperour  to  a  peace,  and  caused  the  young  princess  to  be 
delivered.'  "  ^^ 

The  game  of  dice  was  found  in  England  from  an  early 
period,  as  the  Saxons,  Danes,  and  Normans  were  much  given 
to  it,  and  during  the  Middle  Ages  dice  were  in  great  force  and 
much  used  in  gambling.  There  were  also  chess  and  draughts 
and  domino  and  backgammon.  Cards  came  into  use  late  in 
this  period,  perhaps  not  earlier  than  the  latter  part  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  seem  not  to  have  been  much  used 
in  England  before  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Gam- 
bling was  very  common  among  all  classes,  so  much  so  that 
one  of  the  restrictions  in  the  indenture  of  apprentices  was 

"Froude,  History  of  England,  I,  76-77. 


296  The  Historical  Child 

that  they  should  keep  from  places  where  gambling  was  car- 
ried on.  Some  of  the  guilds  had  to  pass  laws  that  no  help 
would  be  given  a  member  who  got  into  trouble  or  fell  into 
poverty  through  playing  dice. 

Ball-playing  was  engaged  in  during  the  Middle  Ages,  ju&t 
as  in  all  ages  and  in  all  countries.  The  ball  was,  perhaps, 
more  of  a  favorite  in  England  than  in  any  other  country 
in  Europe.  They  had  club-ball,  one  player  throwing  the 
ball  and  another  striking  it  with  a  straight  club;  cambuc 
or  bandy-ball  was  probably  a  kind  of  golf,  as  the  ball  was 
struck  on  the  ground  with  a  curved  club,  called  a  bandy ;  pall- 
mall  must  have  been  a  kind  of  croquet,  as  a  wooden  ball  was 
used  which  was  struck  with  a  mallet  and  driven  through 
arches  of  iron,  there  being  an  arch  at  each  end  of  the  grounds ; 
in  hand-ball  the  ball  was  struck  with  the  palms  of  the  hands 
against  a  wall  or  over  something,  being  somewhat  like  tennis 
without  a  racket,  and  then  later  tennis  with  net  and  racket 
came  to  be  played ;  there  was  foot-ball,  the  ball  being  kicked 
about  by  the  foot. 

Tip  cat  was  a  game  played  with  a  piece  of  wood  called 
a  cat,  pointed  at  each  end  much  like  a  double  cone,  which 
was  laid  on  the  ground  in  the  center  of  a  large  ring;  the 
player  would  strike  one  end  of  the  cat  with  a  stick,  causing 
it  to  fly  upward,  which  he  then  tried  to  strike  to  knock  it 
out  of  the  ring.  There  was  bowling,  many  villages  having 
bowling-greens.  They  also  played  quoits,  fox  and  geese,  and 
other  kinds  of  outdoor  games. 

Young  people  played  in  the  games  and  indulged  in  the 
sports  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  and  children  played  many 
of  them,  and  also  they  had  many  other  sports,  such  as  spin- 
ning tops,  catching  butterflies  and  beetles,  playing  blind 
man's  buff,  and  the  like. 

Education.  The  early  Christians,  surrounded  as  they  were 
with  pagan  thoughts  and  ideas  found  it  necessary  to  with- 
draw themselves  from  such  influences,  and,  as  they  were 
without  schools  of  their  own,  they  became  largely  illiterate, 
having  no  training  beyond  what  was  obtained  through  their 
religion.  Although  they  received  but  little  literary  educa- 
tion, yet  they  were  given  moral  training  of  the  very  highest 
and  best.  As  the  church  grew  there  was  found  the  necessity 
of  instructing  those  who  were  being  brought  into  it,  as  well 
as  the  young,  and  so  there  arose  what  were  known  as  the 
catechetical  schools. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  297 

These  schools  began  more  and  more  to  come  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  old  pagan  culture  and  to  drift  away  from  their 
original  purpose  of  giving  religious  instruction  and  to  enter 
more  upon  the  intellectual  side.  To  counteract  this  they 
were  finally  taken  away  from  the  laity  and  brought  under  the 
influence  of  the  clergy  and  came  to  be  established  in  connec- 
tion with  the  churches  and  then  these  schools  became  to  be 
known  as  cathedral  schools.  They  then  gradually  grew  to 
become  used  for  the  training  of  the  clergy.  When  monas- 
teries arose  in  connection  with  the  Christian  church,  there 
grew  up  in  them  schools  for  the  training  of  those  who  were  to 
become  monks  or  priests.  Thus  education  became  to  be  less 
common  than  under  Roman  civilization  and  the  schools  to  be 
used  mostly  for  those  who  were  to  enter  more  directly  into  the 
work  of  the  church. 

One  of  the  marked  characteristics  of  the  Middle  Ages  was 
the  growth  of  the  idea  of  education  for  all  classes.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  period  education  was  not  considered  highly 
important  for  any  one,  then  came  the  idea  of  education  for 
those  who  were  to  enter  into  clerical  duties,  and  then  last  of 
all  began  to  grow  up  the  idea  of  education  for  all,  whatever 
the  future  life  work  might  be.  That  classical  learning  in  its 
essential  features  was  preserved  to  Europe  was  due  to  the 
Christian  church,  for  keeping  up  the  use  of  the  Latin  lan- 
guage the  churchmen  were  thus  given  access  to  the  written 
works  of  Eoman  culture  and  through  them  much  was  retained, 
especially  in  the  monasteries.  While  the  Roman  civilization 
was  almost  annihilated  in  the  central  part  of  the  empire,  the 
extreme  eastern  and  western  parts  were  relatively  undis- 
turbed and  classical  learning  was  maintained  in  them,  Ireland 
being  the  chief  center  in  the  West,  from  whence  later  this 
learning  was  returned  to  the  central  part  of  Europe.  There 
were  three  distinct  outbursts  of  learning  following  the  dark- 
est time  of  the  period,  the  first  being  under  Charlemagne 
(742-814)  in  France  and  Central  Europe,  the  second  in  Eng- 
land under  Alfred  the  Great  (849-901),  and  the  third  under 
the  Mohammedans  in  Spain. 

The  course  of  study  in  the  schools  of  the  Middle  Ages  was 
primarily  designed  to  train  the  clergy  to  be  able  to  participate 
in  the  church  services  and  also  to  conduct  them.  The  in- 
struction was  given  in  the  elementary  or  song  school  which 
was  followed  by  the  grammar  school  and  then  by  higher  in- 
struction.   In  the  elementary  school  reading,  writing,  music, 


298  The  Historical  Child 

arithmetic,  and  Latin  were  taught.  In  reading  the  beginner 
was  taught  by  the  alphabetic  method  and  when  reading  was 
begun  careful  attention  was  given  to  enunciation  and  accent 
and  often  boys  were  taught  to  read  well  without  knowing 
the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  Latin  they  were  reading.  In 
writing  wax  tablets  were  used  in  the  earlier  times  and  then 
there  came  into  use  pen,  ink,  and  parchment.  This  was  an 
important  phase  of  educartion  because  of  the  need  of  copying 
books.  Music  was  an  important  subject  because  of  its  use  in 
the  church  service.  Arithmetic  was  begun  by  counting  and 
then  simple  operations  on  the  fingers,  adding,  subtracting, 
multiplying,  and  dividing  being  drilled  into  the  pupils 
through  oral  work,  but  little  written  work  being  done.  Latin 
was  only  of  an  elementary  form,  a  beginning  in  conversation 
being  made.  The  student  who  went  on  with  his  studies  took 
up  the  subjects  of  the  trivium — grammar,  rhetoric  and  dia- 
lectic. If  he  wished  to  pursue  his  studies  further  he  entered 
into  the  subjects  of  the  quadrivium — arithmetic,  geometry, 
music,  and  astronomy. 

There  were  three  kinds  of  medieval  church  schools — the 
monastic  school,  the  cathedral  school,  and  the  parish  school. 
The  monastic  school  occupied  a  place  within  the  monaster}^ 
and  it  was  primarily  intended  for  those  who  were  to  enter 
into  monastic  life ;  there  were  no  charges  for  tuition,  the 
school  being  maintained  through  gifts  from  pupils,  sometimes 
such  being  quite  large ;  the  poor  pupils  were  supported  by 
charity  or  they  paid  their  way  by  copying  books  or  by  doing 
other  things.  In  the  cathedral  school  there  was.  usually  a 
song  school,  for  elementary  instruction,  and  a  grammar  school, 
for  those  who  should  want  more  advanced  education.  As  as- 
sistants in  the  smaller  churches  needed  instruction,  parish* 
schools  were  established,  in  which  there  was  but  little  training 
given  beyond  that  needed  for  participation  in  the  church 
services. 

Lay  education  arose  in  this  period  in  three  ways.  In  the 
first  place  it  came  through  the  education  and  training  of  those 
intended  for  knighthood,  as  such  produced  standards  of  de- 
portment that  impressed  themselves  upon  the  upper  classes 
in  such  a  way  that  as  civilization  advanced  and  means  of  in- 
tercourse widened  there  came  a  need  of  systematic  instruction 
so  that  there  arose  the  great  public  schools  of  England  and 
similar  schools  upon  the  continent.  In  the  second  place  the 
growing  importance  of  the  cities  in  industry  and  commerce 


The  Child  in  Earlier  amd  Medieval  Europe  299 

led  to  the  establishment  of  schools  for  the  training  of  the  city 
youth,  so  that  the  burgher  school  was  produced.  Under  the 
guild  system  there  arose  a  kind  of  industrial  education  and 
the  need  of  means  of  instruction  of  the  young  of  the  guild 
members  so  that  guild  schools  were  formed. 

During  the  period  following  the  fall  of  Rome,  the  culture 
and  learning  of  Greece  and  Rome  were  almost  entirely  lost 
to  central  and  western  Europe.  Only  here  and  there  was  a 
little  retained,  usually  in  some  monastery  where  some  of  the 
old  manuscripts  were  stored  away.  Yet  learning  was  never 
entirely  lost,  and  when  the  Crusades  arose  and  the  people  of 
the  West  came  in  contact  with  the  old  Greek  culture  in  east- 
ern Europe  and  with  the  scientific  learning  of  the  Moslems, 
and  who  brought  learning  again  into  Spain,  they  brought  back 
with  them  a  widening  interest  in  learning.  Too,  as  commerce 
grew  and  wealth  increased  there  became  more  leisure  for 
learning  and  there  grew  up  a  desire  for  further  knowledge 
and,  so  to  the  education  as  discussed  in  the  foregoing  para- 
graphs there  was  added  a  still  higher  form,  that  of  the  uni- 
versity. 

The  university  arose  during  the  Middle  Ages,  In  its  be- 
ginning it  came  neither  directly  from  church  or  state.  The 
awakening  of  a  scientific  spirit  and  the  spreading  abroad  of 
discussion  through  scholasticism  caused  to  arise  centers  around 
which  learned  men  gathered  about  them  the  young  men  of  the 
times.  The  earliest  of  these  were  the  universities  of  Bologna 
and  Salerno  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  former  was  for  the 
study  of  law  and  the  latter  for  medicine.  The  University  of 
Paris  originated  near  the  same  time  and  in  it  arose  the  four 
faculties — theology,  philosophy,  law,  medicine — which  are  still 
extant  to-day  in  the  universities.  Oxford,  Cambridge,  Vienna, 
and  many  other  universities  were  formed  during  this  period. 

From  the  very  first,  special  privileges  were  conferred  upon 
the  universities  by  the  authorities.  Sometimes  they  were  al- 
lowed to  have  full  control  of  their  own  affairs,  having  their 
own  special  courts.  Again  those  connected  with  the  univer- 
sities were  exempt  from  military  service,  except  in  time  of 
great  need,  and  from  paying  taxes.  There  were  a  number  of 
other  privileges  granted.  These  privileges  were  not  always 
granted  because  of  the  high  regard  in  which  the  university 
was  held  but  sometimes  thej^  were  gained  by  the  university 
threatening  to  remove  to  another  place  and  even  doing  this, 
for  there  were  no  great  plants  in  those  days  demanding  per- 


300  TJie  Historical  Child 

manent  residence  as  now,  as  professors  and  students  were 
about  all  there  was  to  a  medieval  university  as  the  buildings 
usually  were  furnished  for  them  and  there  were  no  great 
libraries  or  laboratories  or  other  equipment.  These  privileges 
often  led  to  abuses  on  the  part  of  the  students  for  many  of 
them  led  dissolute  lives  and  others  became  bullies  and  adven- 
turers. Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  it  is  too  true  that 
the  moral  tone  of  the  medieval  university  was  low. 

The  medieval  university  in  its  organization  was  similar  to 
the  guild,  the  term  signifying  a  company  of  persons  that  were 
joined  together  for  study.  There  came  to  be  a  natural  group- 
ing together  of  the  students  from  the  same  part  of  the  world 
so  that  there  arose  the  naiiojis,  and  each  year  each  nation 
elected  a  councillor,  who  was  to  be  the  chief  to  act  for  the 
nation.  The  university  was  organized  into  faculties,  the  com- 
plete number  being  four,  of  arts,  law,  medicine,  and  theology. 
Each  faculty  elected  a  dean,  as  its  representative,  and  then 
deans  and  councillors  elected  the  rector,  the  head  of  the  uni- 
versity. In  the  South  the  rector  was  usually  a  student  while 
in  the  North  he  was  generally  elected  from  the  body  of  pro- 
fessors. 

At  first  the  courses  offered  differed  in  the  various  univer- 
sities, but  later  the  courses  were  fixed  either  by  a  papal  de- 
cree or  by  the  faculty.  The  student  was  not  only  to  acquire 
the  subject,  but  to  be  able  to  debate  upon  it.  He  was  expected 
to  memorize  the  professor's  lecture  and  to  prepare  himself  in 
debate  so  as  to  be  ready  to  cope  with  students  taking  the  other 
side  of  the  question. 

Usually  the  courses  in  arts  were  taken  by  the  younger  stu- 
dents as  a  preparation  for  the  professional  training.  At 
first  the  bachelor's  degree  meant  only  that  the  one  receiving 
it  was  granted  the  privilege  to  enter  upon  the  work  leading  to 
the  other  degrees,  but  later  it  became  a  separate  degree. 
Master  and  doctor  at  first  were  about  of  equal  rank,  and  then 
later  doctor  represented  a  higher  period  of  learning. 

The  Church  Fathers  were  quite  severe  in  their  ideas  of  edu- 
cation. The  most  famous  writings  among  them  on  the  sub- 
ject are  by  Saint  Jerome  on  the  education  of  girls,  being  let- 
ters to  a  mother.    Some  of  the  admonitions  are  as  follows : 

"Do  not  allow  Paula  to  eat  in  public,  that  is,  do  not  let  her 
take  part  in  family  entertainments,  for  fear  that  she  may 
desire  the  meats  that  may  be  served  there.  Let  her  learn  not 
to  use  wine,  for  it  is  the  source  of  all  impurity.    Let  her  food 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  301 

be  vegetables,  and  only  rarely  fish ;  and  let  her  eat  so  as  always 
to  be  hungry. 

"For  myself,  I  entirely  forbid  a  young  girl  to  bathe. 

"Never  let  Paula  listen  to  musical  instruments;  let  her 
even  be  ignorant  of  the  uses  served  by  the  flute  and  the  harp. 

"Do  not  let  Paula  be  found  in  the  ways  of  the  world  (em- 
phatic paraphrase  for  streets),  in  the  gatherings  and  in  the 
company  of  her  kindred;  let  her  be  found  only  in  retire- 
ment. 

"Do  not  allow  Paula  to  feel  more  affection  for  one  of  her 
companions  than  for  others ;  do  not  allow  her  to  speak  with 
such  a  one  in  an  undertone. 

"Let  her  be  educated  in  a  cloister,  where  she  will  not  know 
the  ¥^orld,  where  she  will  live  as  an  angel,  having  a  body  but 
not  knowing  it,  and  where,  in  a  word,  you  will  be  spared  the 
care  of  watching  over  her. ' '  ^^ 

Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  foregoing,  we  must  agree 
that  the  following  advice  is  most  wholesome: 

"Do  not  chide  her  for  the  difficulty  she  may  have  in  learn- 
ing. On  the  contrary,  encourage  her  by  commendation,  and 
proceed  in  such  a  way  that  she  shall  be  equally  sensible  to 
the  pleasure  of  having  done  well,  and  to  the  pain  of  not  having 
been  successful.  .  .  .  Especially  take  care  that  she  do 
not  conceive  a  dislike  for  study  that  might  follow  her  into 
a  more  advanced  age."  ^® 

There  is  not  very  much  given  on  education  of  women  during 
the  medieval  period.  It  is  no  doubt  true  that  girls  received 
even  less  education  than  did  boys.  During  the  time  of  chiv- 
alry the  young  women,  like  the  young  men,  were  often  edu- 
cated in  the  castle  of  some  knight  or  lord,  being  trained  in 
household  management,  music,  and  gentle  manners.  It  would 
seem  that  sometimes  girls  had  in  their  own  homes  governesses 
for  training  them.  Sometimes  girls  and  little  boys  were  sent 
together  to  nunneries  to  be  educated.  Here  and  there  are 
found  references  which  imply  that  some  women  were  well 
educated  for  their  times  and  particularly  so  in  languages, 
reading  and  writing  and  speaking  English,  French  and  Span- 
ish. But  in  the  main  it  was  considered  that  all  the  training 
necessary  for  the  girls  was  a  little  elementary  education  and 
such  knowledge  of  housework  and  management  as  would  fit 
them  for  wives. 

"  Compavre,  History  of  pedagogy,  65-66. 
"7&id.,  67. 


302  The  Historical  Child 

The  Children's  Crusade.  Among  the  greatest  events  in 
medieval  Europe  were  the  Crusades,  and  perhaps  the  most 
striking  was  the  Children's  Crusade.  This  occurred  in  1212 
A.  D.,  in  France  and  Germany.  The  early  Crusades  had  been 
successful  in  taking  Palestine  away  from  the  Saracens  and  a 
Christian  kingdom  had  been  established  with  Jerusalem  as  its 
center.  But  at  the  time  of  the  Children's  Crusade,  Palestine 
had  nearly  all  again  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  ^lohamme- 
dans.  It  is  true  there  had  been  three  later  crusades,  but 
they  were  not  successful  and  they  had  for  a  time  ceased 
against  Palestine  and  had  been  turned  against  parts  of  Eu- 
rope. One  such  was  made  on  Germany,  a  second  was  against 
the  Saracens  in  Spain,  and  a  third  was  against  the  Albigenses 
in  southern  France.  People  became  indifferent  in  reference 
to  Palestine,  so  the  church  sent  out  chosen  ones  to  arouse  en- 
thusiasm and  to  strive  to  bring  about  another  Crusade. 
Amid  such  scenes  arose  the  Children's  Crusade. 

Never  was  there  at  any  other  time  such  an  arousing  of 
children.  All  classes  of  children  were  included.  Children 
came  from  the  hovel  of  the  peasant,  the  hut  of  the  shepherd, 
the  home  of  the  merchant,  and  the  castle  of  the  lord.  INIost  of 
them  enrolled  in  the  Crusade  from  religious  fervor,  but  many 
went  only  to  get  away  from  the  restraints  of  home.  Sad  it  is, 
too,  that  many  worthless  characters,  both  men  and  women, 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  the  children.  Many  girls  were  in- 
cluded in  this  movement,  but  the  very  greater  part  were  boys 
under  twelve  years  of  age.  The  children  seemed  to  be  filled 
with  the  fervor  and  nothing  could  restrain  them.  When  the 
procession  of  children  went  along  it  made  the  others  wild  to 
join.  If  by  any  means  children  could  be  detained  by  their 
parents,  they  pined  so  that  they  had  to  be  given  their  freedom 
and  be  allowed  to  join  the  throng. 

In  France  the  leader  was  Stephen  of  Cloyes,  who  at  the 
time  of  the  Crusade  was  about  twelve  years  of  age.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  poor  peasant,  a  shepherd.  When  old  enough, 
Stephen  was  sent  out  to  tend  sheep  and  for  some  years  he 
spent  his  summers  upon  the  plains  near  his  home.  As  in 
other  parts  of  Europe,  so  at  Cloyes  means  were  taken  to  arouse 
the  people  to  another  crusade  into  Palestine.  Among  such 
were  processions  in  which  was  shown  the  condition  of  the 
Christians  in  Palestine  and  with  entreaties  for  the  people  to 
strive  to  redeem  the  Ploly  Land.  As  with  all  the  others, 
Stephen  must  have  witnessed  these  scenes  and  have  listened  to 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  303 

the  portrayals  of  affairs  in  Palestine,  which  he  must  have 
greatly  considered  while  tending  his  sheep. 

One  day  a  stranger  appeared  before  him  and  stated  that  he 
was  a  pilgrim  from  Palestine,  and  asked  for  food.  Stephen 
fed  the  stranger  and  asked  in  return  to  be  told  about  the 
Holy  Land.  The  stranger  told  his  stories  and  he  must  have 
seen  that  Stephen  was  greatly  affected  as  he  finally  declared 
himself  to  be  Jesus  Christ  and  to  have  come  to  appoint 
Stephen  to  lead  the  children  in  a  crusade,  and  gave  him  a 
letter  to  the  king  of  France.  Stephen  at  once  entered  into  his 
holy  mission  and  told  his  story  to  parents  and  neighbors, 
showed  the  letter  he  had  to  the  king,  and  declared  himself 
to  be  called  to  go  forth  as  a  leader  in  the  Crusade. 

Stephen  called  the  children  to  his  crusade  and  there  flocked 
about  him  the  children  of  his  neighborhood,  but  he  soon  saw 
that  he  could  not  arouse  the  nation  from  this  out-of-the-way 
place.  So  he  determined  to  go  to  the  greatest  religious  center 
in  France,  the  city  of  St.  Denis,  the  place  of  burial  of  the 
martyr  Dionysius,  whose  tomb  was  the  great  shrine  of  the 
land,  to  which  great  crowds  went  on  pilgrimages.  To  this 
place  Stephen  went,  attired  in  his  shepherd's  dress,  crook  in 
hand,  and  wallet  by  side.  He  went  from  crowd  to  crowd, 
before  the  church  door  and  in  the  market  place,  showing  his 
letter  to  the  king  and  preaching  his  Crusade.  It  was  not  long 
before  he  attracted  attention  and  aroused  enthusiasm  in  the 
young.  The  people  carried  news  of  him  throughout  France  as 
they  returned  to  their  homes  and  the  young  people  gathered 
together  their  fellows  and  returned  with  crowds  of  children 
to  Stephen.  As  the  numbers  increased,  Stephen  led  them 
through  the  towns  and  villages  till  he  had  all  the  children  wild 
to  join  him.  This  did  not  go  on  without  some  opposition. 
Some  of  the  more  intelligent  men,  among  them  some  from  the 
clergy,  thought  it  should  not  go  on,  and  even  the  king,  Philip 
Augustus,  was  in  doubt  about  it.  He  asked  an  opinion  con- 
cerning it  from  the  University  of  Paris,  and  after  due  delib- 
eration its  members  advised  the  king  that  the  movement 
should  be  stopped  even  if  vigorous  means  had  to  be  used. 
The  king  then  issued  an  edict,  commanding  the  children  to 
give  up  the  enterprise  and  to  return  to  their  homes.  This 
edict  had  but  little  effect,  as  the  movement  went  right  on,  and 
the  king  did  not  dare  enforce  the  edict. 

The  crowds  of  children  gathered  more  and  more  over 
France  and  Stephen  designated  Vendome  as  the  central  place 


304  The  Historical  Child 

in  which  to  assemble  and  to  get  ready  to  depart  for  Palestine. 
This  was  a  good  selection  as  it  was  an  important  place  and 
with  roads  coming  into  it  from  all  directions.  The  bands  of 
children  came  into  Vendome  in  great  numbers,  one  chronicler 
stating  that  there  were  fifteen  thousand  children  under  twelve 
years  of  age  from  Paris  alone,  and  although  in  all  probabilities 
this. is  an  overestimation,  yet  it  shows  there  was  a  vast  as- 
sembly of  children,  so  much  so  that  Vendome  could  not  con- 
tain them  and  they  had  to  encamp  outside  its  walls,  each  band 
to  itself  so  that  those  from  the  same  city  or  community  were 
together.  The  children  were  from  all  parts  of  France,  vary- 
ing in  language  and  dress,  but  not  in  zeal.  Whether  they  all 
wore  a  uniform  is  not  known,  but  they  did  put  on  the  Cross 
of  the  Crusaders,  made  of  red  woolen  cloth  and  sewed  on  the 
right  shoulder  of  the  coat  by  some  one  of  the  leaders,  and  of 
which  emblem  the  children  were  all  very  proud.  Finally  all 
the  bands  had  gathered  and  Stephen  was  ready  to  make  the 
start  for  the  sea,  which  was  to  open  and  let  them  march 
through  to  the  Holy  Land.  The  number  assembled  at  Ven- 
dome was  about  thirty  thousand. 

The  message  of  the  pilgrim  delivered  to  Stephen  must  have 
come  the  last  of  April  or  the  first  of  May,  1212,  as  it  occurred 
shortly  after  Stephen  had  observed  in  the  city  of  Chartres  the 
procession  to  commemorate  the  sufferings  of  those  who  had 
died  in  defense  of  the  Holy  Land  and  which  was  held  on  St. 
Mark's  day,  April  25th,  He  went  to  St.  Deny's  in  the  month 
of  May  and  to  Vendome,  perhaps,  the  last  of  May  or  the  first 
of  June  and  the  start  for  the  sea  was  made  the  last  of  July 
or  the  first  of  August,  all  of  the  same  year. 

And  now  all  was  ready  for  the  departure  from  Vendome. 
Their  leader  Stephen  had  become  so  great  that  there  was  pro- 
vided for  him  a  carriage,  decorated  with  flags  and  tapestries 
of  brilliant  colors,  and  over  him  was  a  canopy  of  rich  draperies 
as  a  protection  from  the  heat  of  the  sun.  About  his  carriage 
was  a  band  of  youths  of  noble  blood,  on  horseback,  and 
equipped  as  knights,  acting  as  his  body  guard.  Good-byes 
were  said  and  the  procession,  singing  their  songs,  with  flags 
and  oriflammes,  started.  At  the  beginning  of  the  journey 
Stephen  was  given  great  honor  and  gladly  obeyed,  they  even 
vied  with  one  another  in  showing  him  adulations  and  tried  to 
secure  a  piece  from  his  clothing  or  from  the  trimmings  of  the 
carriage  or  from  the  trappings  of  the  horses  which  was  kept 
as  a  relic  and  used  as  a  charm.    But  as  days  went  on  and  hard- 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  305 

ships  and  sufferings  came  upon  them  and  their  journey  length- 
ened out,  they  became  little  more  than  a  straggling  crowd 
without  order  or  discipline,  and  then  Stephen 's  authority  was 
no  longer  regarded  by  them.  Their  journey  was  to  Blois, 
where  they  crossed  the  Loire,  and  then  to  Lyons,  where  the 
Rhone  was  crossed,  and  thence  to  Marseilles.  As  they  were 
asked  on  the  way  where  they  were  going  they  all  answered : 
' '  To  Jerusalem. ' '  This  was  an  unusually  hot  summer  and  the 
children  suffered  greatly  from  heat  and  thirst  and  many  of 
them  from  hunger,  although  the  people  along  the  way  sym- 
pathized with  the  movement  and  aided  them.  At  last  they 
came  to  Marseilles.  They  asked  for  shelter  in  the  city  for  the 
night  only,  as  on  the  morrow  God  was  to  open  the  sea  for 
them  and  they  would  proceed  on  their  way  to  the  Holy  Land. 

The  city  granted  their  request  and  the  children  entered  the 
gates  and  went  into  the  city,  singing  their  songs  as  they 
marched  through  the  streets.  They  passed  the  night  and  in 
the  morning  they  went  to  the  sea  to  go  on  with  their  journey. 
The  sea  did  not  open  that  day  nor  the  next  day  nor  on  any 
day.  This  discouraged  them  and  many  gave  up,  but  others 
remained,  hoping  for  a  way  to  Palestine.  And  a  way  did 
come,  for  two  merchants  of  Marseilles,  Hugo  Ferreus  and 
William  Porcus,  so  their  Latin  names  read,  offered  "for  the 
cause  of  God,  and  without  price,"  to  provide  ships  for  their 
transport.  Preparations  then  were  made,  and  seven  ships 
furnished  and  it  is  estimated  that  about  five  thousand  children 
went  on  board  these  ships  to  proceed  on  their  way  to  Palestine. 
Nothing  further  w^as  heard  of  these  children  who  sailed  from 
Marseilles  on  that  August  day  in  1212,  till  in  1230,  eighteen 
years  afterward,  when  a  priest  came  to  Europe  from  Palestine 
and  told  that  he  was  among  those  who  were  on  the  vessels 
with  the  children.  He  stated  that  two  of  the  ships  were 
wrecked  off  the  coast  of  the  island  of  San  Pietro  and  all  on 
board  perished.  The  other  five  ships  were  taken  to  Bujeiah 
and  Alexandria  and  the  children  were  sold  to  the  Saracens. 
Upon  learning  of  this.  Pope  Gregory  IX.  had  a  church  built 
on  the  island  where  the  wreck  occurred  and  had  the  remains 
of  the  children  interred  in  it  and  named  it  the  Ecclesia 
NovoRUM  Innocentium — The  Church  of  the  Nem  Innocents. 

The  story  of  Stephen  at  St.  Denys  was  not  only  carried  all 
over  France,  but  likewise  to  the  neighboring  countries,  spread- 
ing to  the  Rhine  provinces  in  Germany.  It  reached  a  village 
near  Cologne  where  lived  a  boy  who  was  about  the  same  age 


306  The  Historical  Child 

as  Stephen  and  by  the  name  of  Nicholas.  Like  Stephen  he, 
too,  was  a  shepherd  boy,  and  he  had  heard  the  stories  about 
the  Crusades.  When  he  learned  about  Stephen  there  arose 
a  desire  to  do  as  he,  and  aided  by  his  father,  some  say  induced 
by  him,  he  took  upon  himself  the  preaching  of  a  children's 
crusade  for  Germany.  He,  too,  had  been  called  to  the  work, 
as  he  stated  while  with  his  flocks  he  saw  a  blazing  cross  in  the 
sky  and  there  came  to  him  a  voice  that  told  him  the  cross  was 
to  lead  him  to  victory  in  his  undertaking  to  recover  the  Holy 
Land.  Like  Stephen,  too,  Nicholas  went  to  a  great  religious 
center,  the  city  of  Cologne,  as  at  this  time  this  city  was  a 
great  center  for  pilgrimages,  as  in  its  cathedral  rested  the 
bones  of  the  ''Three  Kings  of  the  East"  who  came  "with  a 
great  multitude  of  camels  to  worshippe  Christ,  then  a  little 
childe  of  thirteen  dayes  olde,"  so  the  old  legend  ran. 

Nicholas  related  his  story  and  preached  his  crusade  before 
the  cathedral  to  the  pilgrims  who  came  to  view  the  relics. 
These  pilgrims  carried  the  story  of  Nicholas  back  to  their 
homes  and  there  soon  came  a  number  of  children  to  him  at 
Cologne.  Lie  also  sent  out  assistants  to  preach  the  crusade 
in  different  parts  of  the  land.  The  excitement  became  even 
greater  than  in  France  for  bands  of  children  came  into 
Cologne  in  even  greater  numbers  than  to  St.  Denys.  This 
was  a  more  mixed  crowd  than  that  of  Stephen,  as  there 
were  more  girls  and  more  adults  and  especially  more  lewd 
women,  so  many  of  these  latter  that  the  chroniclers  referred 
to  them  often  and  attributed  to  them  the  greater  part  of  the 
evils  that  came  upon  the  multitude.  These  crusaders  had  a 
uniform,  which  consisted  of  a  long  gray  coat,  with  a  cross 
sewed  upon  the  breast,  and  they  wore  broad  brimmed  hats 
and  carried  a  palmer 's  staff.  In  about  a  month  the  host  had 
gathered  and  was  ready  to  start  for  the  sea,  which  was  to  let 
them  pass  through  to  the  Holy  Land,  as  with  the  army  of 
Stephen.  But  there  arose  a  division  and  only  a  part  started 
under  the  leadership  of  Nicholas. 

Those  who  remained  with  Nicholas  left  Cologne  for  Genoa 
in  June  or  July,  1212.  The  number  that  started  was  said  to 
have  been  twenty  thousand,  the  majority  being  boys  under 
twelve  years  of  age.  Nicholas  took  his  place  at  the  head  and 
at  a  signal  the  start  was  made,  with  banners  flying  and  the 
singing  of  h\anns.  But  this  was  not  true  of  all  the  parents 
and  friends,  for  many  of  them  were  in  great  distress  over 
the  leaving  of  their  children,  and  they  followed  for  some 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  307 

distance  pleading  for  them  to  give  up  and  return  to  their 
homes.  One  of  the  songs  of  this  band  comes  down  to  us. 
Gray  ^^  states  that  an  account  of  the  discovery  of  this  hymn 
may  be  found  in  a  magazine,  the  Evangelical  Christendom  for 
May,  1850.  and  that  Hecker  asserts  it  was  used  by  the  chil- 
dren. It  was  in  German,  coming  from  Westphalia,  and  had 
been  used  before  by  Crusaders  on  their  journey  to  Palestine. 
The  English  translation  is  as  follows: 

"Fairest  Lord  Jesus, 

Euler  of  all  nature, 
Thou  of  Mary  and  of  God  tlie  Son! 

Thee  will  I  cherish, 

Thee  will  I  honor, 
Thee  my  soul's  glory,  joy,  and  crown! 

"Fair  are  the  meadows. 

Fairer  still  the  woodlands, 
Eobed  in  the  blooming  garb  of  spring; 

Jesus  is  fairer, 

Jesus  is  purer. 
Who  makes  our  saddened  heart  to  sing. 

"Fair  is  the  sunshine. 

Fairer  still  the  moonlight. 
And  the  sparkling,  starry  host; 

Jesus  shines  brighter, 

Jesus  shines  purer, 
Than  all  the  angels  heaven  can  boast." 

They  took  their  way  along  the  Rhine,  they  entered  into 
Switzerland  going  by  way  of  Geneva,  their  route  through  the 
Alps  was  over  Mont  Cenis,  entering  Italy  in  what  is  now 
Piedmont,  and  from  thence  to  Genoa.  At  that  time  the  region 
along  the  Rhine  was  not  much  peopled,  a  feudal  castle  rising 
here  and  there  on  some  prominent  crag  with  hamlets  below, 
but  most  of  the  way  was  almost  a  wilderness  and  with  plenty 
of  wild  animals  such  as  stags  and  boars  and  wolves  and  bears. 
The  children  suffered  much,  especially  from  lack  of  food  and 
shelter.  The  children  also  were  carried  off  by  the  robber 
barons.  The  children  were  preyed  upon  by  the  hangers-on 
and  thieves  and  the  degraded  men  and  women  and  they  were 
soon  without  control,  and  the  band  became  but  little  more 
than  a  rabble.  But  their  sufferings  along  the  Rhine  were 
quite  small  as  compared  with  what  took  place  in  traversing 
the  Alps.    The  trials  and  sufferings  were  so  great  that  many 

•"Gray,  The  children's  crusade,  78-80. 


308  The  Historical  Child 

of  them  succumbed  and  a  large  number  gave  up  and  turned 
back.  The  summit  was  reached  and  in  the  monastery  there 
they  were  helped  with  food  and  shelter  and  afforded  a  time  to 
rest  before  going  on  with  their  journey.  They  went  on  and 
came  into  Italy  where  they  had  hoped  to  receive  kind  treat- 
ment, but  instead  they  were  treated  harshly,  robbed,  refused 
entrance  into  the  towns,  seized  by  the  lords  and  carried  away 
as  slaves.  Finally  they  came  to  a  place  where  they  saw  Genoa 
from  a  mountain  and  then  they  felt  that  their  sufferings  were 
over.  They  again  recognized  Nicholas  as  their  prophet  and 
leader  and  with  crosses  aloft,  banners  unfurled,  and  hymns 
sung  in  praise,  they  hurried  down  to  the  sea  to  enter  the  path 
that  surely  would  be  opened  to  them  to  go  over  to  the  Holy 
Land. 

As  was  stated,  twenty  thousand  started  with  Nicholas  at 
Cologne,  but  after  the  hard  journey  of  seven  hundred  miles, 
there  were  only  seven  thousand  that  reached  Genoa  in  August, 
1212.  But  these  were  the  very  best  for  only  the  strongest  kept 
on  and  could  endure  the  hardships.  Like  the  children  at 
Marseilles,  they  asked  to  remain  in  Genoa  but  one  night  as  on 
the  morrow  God  was  to  open  the  sea  to  them  that  they  might 
continue  on  their  journey.  The  authorities  at  first  granted 
them  permission  to  remain  six  or  seven  daj^s  but  on  the  very 
same  day  this  time  was  shortened  to  one  day,  as  it  was  feared 
they  might  become  lawless  and  again  there  was  fear  of  famine, 
but  most  of  all  the  Genoese  feared  the  displeasure  of  the 
Pope,  who  at  that  time  was  in  conflict  with  the  German  Em- 
peror, and  of  course  these  children  were  subjects  of  the  Em- 
peror. The  children  agreed  to  this,  as  they  said  they  wanted 
but  one  night  as  they  would  go  on  through  the  sea  in  the 
morning.  The  gates  were  then  opened  and  the  children  en- 
tered and  marched  through  the  streets  singing,  with  crosses 
uplifted  and  banners  flying.  The  night  was  passed  and  in 
the  morning  they  rushed  to  the  seashore,  but  as  with  the  other 
children  so  with  these,  for  they  waited  in  vain  for  the  sea 
to  open. 

"When  the  senate  at  Genoa  had  taken  back  their  offer  to  let 
the  children  remain  six  or  seven  days  and  gave  them  per- 
mission to  remain  but  one  day,  they  did  extend  an  invitation 
to  all  those  who  would  like  to  make  Genoa  their  permanent 
home  to  do  so,  and  they  would  be  received  as  citizens.  At  tbe 
time  the  offer  was  made  it  was  rejected  by  all  as  they  were 
anticipating  that  on  the  morrow  the  sea  would  open  and  a 


The  Child  in  Earlier  and  Medieval  Europe  309 

path  would  be  provided  for  a  way  to  Palestine.  After  the 
sea  did  not  open,  many  of  the  children  were  convinced  that 
their  journey  was  ended  and  they  decided  to  accept  the  offer 
and  to  remain  at  Genoa.  There  were  quite  a  number  that  so 
decided,  and  they  became  citizens  and  some  of  the  youth  grew 
to  become  wealthy  and  prominent  men  and  some  joined  them- 
selves with  patrician  families,  being  of  noble  German  birth, 
and  several  great  families  were  so  founded,  among  such  being 
one  great  princely  house. 

Those  who  did  not  wish  to  remain  at  Genoa  left  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  after  their  entry.  Outside  the  gates  a  council  was 
held  and  they  decided  to  go  on  their  way  by  land  to  Palestine 
as  far  as  they  could.  After  this  there  was  no  further  organiza- 
tion, and  Nicholas  is  not  heard  of  again.  They  went  to  Pisa 
and  from  here  two  shiploads  of  children  set  sail  for  the  Holy 
Land,  but  there  is  nothing  known  of  them  further.  The  rem- 
nant went  on  to  Eome  and  were  received  by  the  Pope  who 
talked  to  them  kindly  and  advised  them  to  give  up  their 
march,  but  he  held  them  to  their  vows  and  told  them  that 
when  they  reached  manhood  they  should  go  forth  to  fight  for 
the  redemption  of  the  Holy  Sepuleher.  These  young  people 
then  gave  up  their  enterprise  and  prepared  to  return  home. 

It  is  not  known  who  was  the  leader  of  the  band  that  sepa- 
rated from  that  one  led  by  Nicholas.  It  is  thought  that  when 
this  band  left  Cologne  it  was  as  large  as  that  which  went  out 
with  Nicholas.  They  took  a  different  route,  going  through 
Swabia  to  Switzerland  and  crossing  the  Alps  at  the  Pass  of 
St.  Gotthard  and  entered  Italy  in  Lombardy.  They  tra- 
versed the  entire  lengh  of  Italy  to  Brindisi.  This  company 
was  composed  of  about  the  same  elements  as  the  other  one  and 
they  met  with  even  greater  difficulties  and  hardships  and 
became  even  more  lawless.  They  were  treated  very  badly 
everywhere  in  Italy.  At  Brindisi  a  number  of  them  embarked 
on  ships  and  sailed  away  for  Palestine  and  that  was  the  last 
ever  heard  of  them. 

The  return  of  the  Germ^an  children  was  sadder  than  their 
going.  In  Italy,  having  to  obtain  food  and  clothing  in  any 
way  possible,  they  contracted  the  worst  of  vices.  So  on  their 
return  they  were  no  longer  a  religious  throng  hurrying  on  to 
save  the  Cross,  but  a  rabble,  with  no  respect  for  any  one  and 
no  one  had  respect  for  them.  Hence  they  were  treated  badly 
on  the  way  back  and  only  found  a  refuge  when  arriving  each 
one  in  his  own  home. 


310  The  Historical  Child 

This  Crusade  shows  the  great  danger  to  which  child-nature 
may  be  subjected  in  times  of  great  excitement  and  teaches  the 
need  of  the  careful  guarding  of  children  from  such.  In  this 
Crusade  it  is  estimated  that  more  than  thirty  thousand  chil- 
dren never  saw  their  homes  after  leaving.  In  all  near  a 
hundred  thousand  children  went  from  their  homes,  leaving 
sixty  thousand  sorrowing  families  behind  them.  Perhaps  not 
one  of  these  children  who  returned  home  came  back  with  the 
purity  with  which  he  or  she  started. 

Other  Ohild-pilgrimages.  "The  second  children's  'pilgrim^ 
age  falls  only  twenty-five  years  later ;  so  that  the  assumption 
of  a  morbid  excitability  of  the  child-world  at  all  this  time 
appears  to  be  justified.  It  was  confined  to  the  city  of  Erfurt, 
and  the  phenomenon  was  very  transient,  but  not  the  less 
presents  all  the  distinctive  marks  of  a  religious  convulsion, 
and  exhibited  more  of  disease  than  other  child-pilgrimages,  as 
far  at  least  as  has  come  down  to  posterity.  On  the  15th  July, 
1237,  there  assembled,  unknown  to  their  parents,  more  than 
]  ,000  children,  left  the  town  by  the  Lober  Gate,  and  wandered, 
dancing  and  leaping,  by  the  Steigerwald  to  Armstadt.  A 
congress  such  as  this,  as  if  by  agreement,  resembles  an  in- 
stinctive impulse  as  in  animals,  when,  for  instance,  swallows 
and  storks  collect  for  their  migration ;  the  same  phenomenon 
has  doubtless  taken  place  in  all  children's  pilgrimages,  it  was 
also  remarked  by  eye-witnesses  of  the  first  of  them,  in  a 
manner  characteristic  of  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was  not  till 
the  next  day  that  the  parents  learned  the  occurrence,  and  they 
fetched  their  children  back  in  carts.  No  one  could  say  who 
had  enticed  them  away.  Many  of  them  are  said  to  have  con- 
tinued ill  some  time  after,  and  in  particular  to  have  suffered 
from  trembling  of  the  limbs,  perhaps  also  from  con^oilsions. 
The  whole  affair  is  obscure,  and  so  little  account  has  been 
taken  of  it  by  contemporaries,  that  the  chronicles  only  speak 
of  the  fact,  and  say  nothing  of  its  causes.  The  only  probable 
conjecture  is  that  the  many  noisy  and  pompous  festivities  con- 
nected with  the  canonization  of  St.  Elizabeth,  the  Landgravine 
of  Thuringia,  had  excited  in  the  child-world  of  Erfurt  this 
itch  for  devotion,  which  sought  to  relieve  itself  by  displays  of 
spinal  activity.  For  this  child-pilgrimage  is  in  very  near 
proximity  to  the  Dancing  Mania. 

"Still  much  more  obscure  is  a  child-pilgrimage  of  1458,  of 
which  the  motives  were  quite  clearly  religious.  It  is  probably, 
at  present,  almost  impossible  to  trace  the  chain  of  ideas  which 


The  Child  in  Earlier  amd  Medieval  Europe  311 

occasioned  it ;  it  is  enough  that  it  was  in  honor  of  the  Arch- 
angel ]\Iichael.  More  than  100  children  from  Hall,  in  Suabia, 
set  out,  against  the  will  of  their  parents,  for  Mont  St.  Michel 
in  Normandy.  They  could  not  by  any  means  be  restrained, 
and  if  force  was  employed,  they  fell  severely  ill,  and  some 
even  died.  The  mayor,  unable  to  prevent  the  journey,  kindly 
furnished  them  a  guide  for  the  long  journey,  and  an  ass  to 
carry  their  luggage.  They  are  said  to  have  actually  reached 
the  then  world-renowned  Abbey,  and  to  have  performed  their 
devotions  there.  We  have  absolutely  no  other  information  of 
them,  and  it  appears  that  this  child-pilgrimage,  which  falls 
to  the  time  when  chorea  was  very  frequent  and  widely  spread 
in  Germany,  has  excited  even  much  less  attention  than  the 
migration  of  the  children  of  Erfurt  in  the  year  1237."  ^^ 


LITERATURE. 

1.  Abram,  A.,  English  life  and  manners  in  the  later  middle 
ages. 

2.  Adams,  George  Burton,  Civilization  during  the  middle 
ages. 

3.  Anderson,  Lewis  F.,  History  of  common  school  educa- 
tion. 

4.  Bemont,  Charles,  and  Monod,  G.,  Medieval  Europe. 

5.  Bury,  J.  B.,  A  history  of  the  later  Roman  empire. 

6.  Compayre,  Gabriel,  A  history  of  pedagogy. 

7.  Cornish,  F.  Ware,  Chivalry. 

8.  Davidson,  Thomas  A.,  A  history  of  education. 

9.  Davis,  H.  W.  C,  Medieval  Europe. 

10.  Dean,  Amos,  The  history  of  civilization. 

11.  Donaldson,  James,  Woman :  Her  position  and  influence 
in  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  and  among  the  early  Christians. 

12.  Emerton,  Ephraim,  Medieval  Europe. 

13.  Finck,  Henry  F.,  Romantic  love  and  personal  beauty. 

14.  Fronde,  James  Anthony,  History  of  England  from  the 
fall  of  Wolsey  to  the  death  of  Elizabeth. 

15.  Garnier,  Russell  M.,  Annals  of  the  British  peasantry. 

16.  Graves,    Frank   Pierrepont,    A   history   of    education, 
During  the  middle  ages. 

17.  Gray,  George  Zabriskie,  The  children's  crusade. 

•»  Hecker,  Epidemics  of  the  middle  ages,  353. 


312  The  Historical  Child 

18.  Guizot,  Francis  Pierre  Guillaume,  General  history  of 
civilization  in  Europe. 

19.  Hallam,  Henry,  View  of  the  state  of  Europe  during 
the  middle  ages. 

20.  Hecker,  J.  P.  C,  The  epidemics  of  the  middle  ages. 

21.  Laurie,  S.  S.,  The  rise  and  early  constitution  of  univer- 
sities. 

22.  Lacroix,  Paul,  Manners,  customs,  and  dress  during  the 
middle  ages. 

23.  Letourneau,  Ch.,  The  evolution  of  marriage. 

24.  Michaud,    Joseph   Frangois,    The   history   of   the    cru- 
sades. 

25.  Mullinger,  J.  B.,  The  schools  of  Charles  the  Great. 

26.  Neal,  Daniel,  The  histoiy  of  the  Puritans. 

27.  Payne,  George  Henry,  The  child  in  human  progress. 

28.  Rait,  Robert  S.,  Life  in  the  medieval  university. 

29.  Sheldon,  Henry  D.,  Student  life  and  customs. 

30.  Thwing,   Charles  Franklin,   The  family. 

31.  Traill,  H.  D.,  Social  England. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   CHILD  IN  EARLIER  UNITED   STATES 

Customs  Relating  to  Land.  The  settlers  in  the  United 
States  brought  with  them  many  of  their  old-world  customs 
and  some  of  these  early  customs  relating  to  land  seem  to  us 
now  most  curious.  Society  has  ever  been  influenced  by  the 
manner  of  holding,  transferring,  and  inheriting  land,  and 
this  all  the  more  in  a  new  country  and  especially  where 
greatly  influenced  by  customs  and  laws  transferred  from 
other  countries. 

One  very  old  and  peculiar  custom  was  brought  over  from 
England  and  used  by  the  first  colonists.  This  was  the  trans- 
ferring of  land  under  the  old  ceremony  of  the  livery  of  seizin, 
a  feudal  ceremony.  When  land  was  being  sold,  the  owner 
would  stand  upon  it  and  he  would  pluck  a  twig  from  the  tree 
or  bush  and  place  it  in  the  hand  of  the  purchaser,  or  he  would 
take  a  small  piece  of  the  turf  and  stick  a  twig  in  it  and  give 
over  to  the  purchaser.  If  a  house  was  sold,  the  owner  would 
take  hold  of  the  ring  or  latch  of  the  door  and  formally  give 
over  the  house  to  the  purchaser. 

In  Virginia  once  every  four  years  between  Easter  and 
Whit  Sunday,  the  owner  of  a  piece  of  ground  had  to  go 
over  the  boundary  and  renew  the  marks,  and  when  a  piece  of 
land  had  been  thus  traced  three  times,  the  right  to  possess  it 
by  the  owner  was  never  afterward  disputed.  Another  cus- 
tom was  feudal  in  its  nature.  The  land  of  the  new  country 
was  given  out  in  grants  by  the  King  and  the  owners  acknowl- 
edged allegiance  to  him  and  paid  annual  dues  and  these  pro- 
prietors established  a  system  of  land-tenure  in  which  they 
let  out  the  land,  and  an  annual  due  was  always  expected. 
This  was  sometimes  paid  in  money  and  again  in  produce  from 
the  land,  sometimes  being  a  very  small  amount,  just  sufficient 
to  show  acknowledgment  of  feudal  ser^dce,  it  might  be  a  few 
pounds  of  butter  or  a  couple  of  loads  of  wood  or  a  pair  of 
chickens.  In  Virginia  the  first  tenants  were  little  better  than 
villains  of  feudal  times,  as  when  they  received  land  they  were 

313 


314  The  Historical  Child 

bound  to  remain  seven  years  on  it  and  to  pay  one-half  of  the 
whole  produce  as  rent. 

In  New  England  and  also  in  some  parts  of  New  York  and 
New  Jersey,  there  was  the  custom  of  holding  land  in  com- 
mon— upland,  meadow,  and  woodland  were  apportioned  out 
for  use  to  the  different  members  of  the  community.  The 
church  was  a  great  binding  force  among  them,  so  that  the 
meeting-house  was  the  center  about  which  the  people  settled, 
and  they  were  kept  all  the  more  closely  together  by  the  hostile 
savages. 

But  in  a  new  country  where  land  was  plentiful  and  easy 
to  obtain  and  laws  difficult  of  enforcement,  the  customs  of  an 
old  and  thickly  peopled  country  could  not  long  hold,  and  par- 
ticularly so  if  unsuited  to  the  needs  of  the  new  country.  Yet 
such  were  enduring  enough  in  this  country  as  to  have  wielded 
quite  an  influence. 

The  People.  Only  a  fringe  along  the  eastern  part  of  this 
country  was  settled  at  this  time.  Too,  this  part  was  not  all 
peopled  by  the  same  nationality  as  there  were  English,  Dutch, 
Swede,  German,  and  French,  and  there  was  not  much  if  any 
mixing  among  them.  When  all  this  territory  came  under 
England,  then  there  was  more  intercommunication  but  not 
even  then  a  great  deal  on  account  of  the  difficulties  of  travel. 
There,  too,  grew  up  quite  a  distinction  between  the  people 
of  the  northern  part  and  those  of  the  southern  part.  The 
southern  part  was  much  better  suited  for  cultivation  under 
the  systems  of  that  time  and  it  became  a  farming  community, 
with  large  farms  and  the  people  were  not  close  together  and 
there  were  not  many  towns  and  cities.  In  the  northern 
part  farming  could  not  be  carried  on  nearly  so  successfullj'^, 
and  so  manufacturing  and  commerce  grew,  both  of  which 
demanded  that  people  should  live  in  towns  and  cities.  The 
separation  of  the  people  in  the  South  and  the  wealth  obtained 
through  agriculture  made  them  most  generous  and  hospitable. 
In  the  North  and  especially  in  New  England  the  hard  strug- 
gle for  maintenance  and  the  living  together  in  communities 
narrowed  the  people,  till  there  was  a  selfishness  displayed 
by  each  town  for  its  own.  In  the  South  strangers  were  wel- 
come and  really  wanted  as  there  often  was  not  great  oppor- 
tunity for  the  people  being  much  together  or  of  learning  of 
outside  affairs,  so  that  the  stranger  could  tell  them  of  the 
doings  of  the  outside  world  and  thus  give  entertainment  for 
hospitality.     In  New  England,  especially  among  the  early 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  315 

people,  there  grew  up  a  suspicion  of  all  newcomers  and  par- 
ticularly strangers,  and  often  it  went  so  far  that  a  stranger 
could  not  acquire  property  in  a  town  and  so  could  not  gain 
a  legal  residence.  It  went  yet  further  in  some  places,  for 
the  people  of  a  town  were  not  encouraged  even  to  have  their 
relatives  from  outside  visit  them, 

"The  primitive  land  systems  lasted  long  enough  to  exert 
a  considerable  influence  upon  the  people.  If  we  consider 
extreme  examples  this  becomes  evident.  The  inhabitant  of 
the  town  community  was  trained  to  association  with  his  fel- 
lows. Measures  were  taken  to  promote  village  life ;  laws  were 
made  in  Connecticut,  in  1650,  against  consolidating  house- 
lots,  and  the  dwellers  in  Andover  were  forbidden  to  live  upon 
their  plow-land,  lest  their  hogs  and  cattle  should  injure  the 
common  meadows.  Artisans  were  secUvfed  by  the  community. 
Newark,  for  example,  reserved  a  lot  for  the  miller,  another 
for  the  town's  tailor,  another  for  the  boatman,  and  so  on.  A 
town  in  one  case  kept  a  flock  of  sheep  for  the  public  benefit. 
The  habit  of  cooperation  promoted  voluntary  associations. 
We  find  one  New  England  mill  owned  by  seven  shareholders, 
another  by  thirteen,  and  a  third  by  fourteen.  The  towns  in 
New  England  and  New  York  made  by-laws,  and  regulated 
their  internal  concerns  in  field  and  town  meetings.  The 
system  was  productive  of  no  end  of  petty  wrangling  and 
neighborhood  feuds,  but  it  cultivated  a  democratic  feeling 
and  taught  each  man  to  maintain  his  right. 

"On  the  other  hand,  the  Southern  planter  lived  in  some 
isolation,  but  his  public  interests  were  as  extensive  as  his 
county  or  his  province.  This  state  of  society  begqt  self- 
reliance,  and  produced  more  leading  statesmen  than  the 
other;  but  the  people  lacked  the  New  England  cohesion  and 
susceptibility  to  organization,  without  which  the  statesman- 
ship of  the  Revolution  would  have  been  in  vain.  The  South- 
erner, from  his  isolation  and  from  other  causes,  became  hos- 
pitable, eager  for  society,  and  in  general  spontaneously 
friendly  and  generous ;  the  New  England  people  became  close- 
fisted  and  shrewd  in  trade,  it  is  a  trait  of  village  life.  But 
the  benevolence  of  New  England  was  more  effective  than 
that  of  the  South,  because  it  was  organized  and  systematic. 
The  village  life  of  the  extreme  North  trained  the  people  to 
trade,  and  led  to  commercial  development ;  and  it  made  popu- 
lar education  possible.  The  sons  of  the  great  planters  at  the 
South  were  averse  to  commerce ;  they  were  also  the  most  lib- 


316  The  Historical  Child 

erally  educated  and  polished  in  manners  of  all  the  colonists; 
but  the  scattered  common  people  could  have  no  schools,  and 
were  generally  rude  and  ignorant,  even  when  compared  with 
the  lower  class  of  New  Englanders,  who  stood  a  chance  of 
getting  some  rough  schooling,  besides  a  certain  education 
from  the  meeting-house  and  the  ever-recurring  town  de- 
bates."^ 

Slavery.  In  1619  the  first  negroes  were  brought  to  the 
colonists.  They  were  carried  to  Jamestown  by  a  Dutch  ship 
and  fourteen  of  them  were  bought  by  the  people  and  remained 
at  Jamestown,  They  were  kept  as  slaves  and  their  work 
proved  so  profitable  that  more  were  brought  in  and  this  con- 
tinued till  there  were  quite  a  number  in  the  colonies.  Not 
only  in  Virginia,  but  in  all  the  colonies,  both  North  and 
South,  slaves  from  Africa  were  used.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  colonies  tried  to  put  a  check  on  the 
slave-trade  but  it  had  proved  so  profitable  to  the  English 
ship  owners  who  carried  on  the  traffic  in  African  slaves,  that 
the  mother-country  favored  them  and  would  not  allow  laws 
of  the  colonies  against  the  slave  trade  to  be  enforced. 

For  a  long  time  but  a  few  women  were  brought  over  in  the 
slave  ships  and  many  of  the  slaves  were  from  wild  tribes  in 
Africa  and  so  they  were  fierce  and  dangerous.  They  com- 
mitted many  crimes  and  were  severely  punished.  Some  of 
the  punishments  were  most  cruel,  as  the  hanging  in  chains, 
and  burning.  Other  punishments  were  whipping,  cropping 
the  ears,  hamstringing,  branding  in  the  face,  and  slitting 
the  nose.  As  slavery  could  be  much  more  profitably  used  in 
the  South,  there  were,  of  course,  more  negroes  taken  there, 
and  so  it  was  the  home  of  much  of  the  cruel  treatment.  But 
the  North  had  it  share  in  such,  as  is  shown  in  the  following 
quotations : 

*'In  colonies  where  the  statutes  did  not  warrant  extraor- 
dinary penalties  on  slaves,  the  administration  of  law  went 
to  the  limit  of  severity.  In  Massachusetts  hanging  was  the 
worst  penalty  for  murder,  but  the  obsolete  common-law  pun- 
ishment specially  assigned  to  women  who  were  guilty  of  petty 
treason  was  revived  in  1755,  in  order  to  burn  alive  a  slave- 
woman  who  had  killed  her  master  in  Cambridge ;  earlier  still 
the  old  lex  talionis  had  been  put  in  force,  that  a  negro  woman 
might  die  by  fire  in  Boston  for  arson  causing  death.    In  New 

*  Eggleston,  Social  conditions  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VI, 
852. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  317 

Jersey,  even  in  that  part  of  the  province  in  which  Quakerism 
should  have  softened  the  spirit  of  the  people,  negroes  were 
burned  in  many  instances.  New  York,  without  the  excuse 
of  serious  danger — for  her  negroes  were  not  more  than  a 
sixth  of  the  population — had  a  code  barely  less  fierce  than 
that  of  South  Carolina,  where  the  multitude  of  the  slaves  was 
a  perpetual  danger  to  the  whites.  Some  of  the  revolting 
penalties  inflicted  on  slaves  in  New  York  with  the  sanction 
of  law-courts  are  striking  proofs  of  the  small  advance  the 
men  of  that  time  had  made  from  positive  barbarism."^ 

"Though  in  the  beginning  he  refused  to  harbor  or  tolerate 
negro-stealers,  the  Massachusetts  Puritan  of  that  day,  en- 
raged at  the  cruelty  of  the  savage  red  men,  did  not  hesitate 
to  sell  Indian  captives  as  slaves  to  the  AVest  Indies.  King 
Phillip 's  wife  and  child  were  thus  sold  and  there  died.  Their 
story  was  told  in  scathing  language  by  Edward  Everett.  In 
1703  it  was  made  legal  to  transport  and  sell  in  the  Barbadoes 
all  Indian  male  captives  under  ten,  and  Indian  women  cap- 
tives. Perhaps  these  transactions  quickly  blunted  whatever 
early  feeling  may  have  existed  against  negro  slavery,  for  soon 
the  African  slave-trade  flournished  in  New  England,  as  in 
Virginia,  Newport  being  the  New  England  center  of  the 
Guinea  trade.  From  1707  to  1732  a  tax  of  three  guineas  a 
head  was  imposed  in  Ehode  Island  on  each  negro  imported — 
on  'Guinea  blackbirds.'  It  would  be  idle  to  dwell  now  on  the 
cruelty  of  that  horrid  traffic,  the  suiierings  on  board  the 
slavers  from  lack  of  room,  of  food,  of  water,  of  air.  But 
three  feet  three  inches  was  allowed  between  decks  for  the  poor 
negro,  who,  accustomed  to  a  free,  out-of-door  life,  thus 
crouched  and  sat  through  the  passage.  No  wonder  the  loss 
of  life  was  great.  It  was  chronicled  in  the  newspapers  and 
letters  of  the  day  in  cold,  heartless  language  that  plainly 
spoke  the  indifference  of  the  public  to  the  trade  and  its  awful 
consequence.  I  have  never  seen  in  any  Southern  newspapers 
advertisements  of  negro  sales  that  surpass  in  heartlessness 
and  viciousness  the  advertisement  of  our  New  England  news- 
papers of  the  eighteenth  century.  Negro  children  were  ad- 
vertised to  be  given  away  in  Boston,  and  were  sold  by  the 
pound  as  was  other  merchandise.  Samuel  Pewter  advertised 
in  the  WeeJcli/  Rehearsal  in  1737  that  he  would  sell  horses  for 
ten  shillings  pay  if  the  horse  sale  were  accomplished,  and  five 
shillings  if  he  endeavored  to  sell  and  could  not;  and  for 

*  Eggleston,  Social  conditions  in.  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VI,  863. 


318  The  Historical  Child 

negroes  *  sixpence  a  pound  on  all  he  sells,  and  a  reasonable 
price  if  he  does  not  sell.'  "  ^ 

The  Dutch  of  New  Netherlands  had  negro  slaves  but  it 
would  seem  they  differed  from  the  English  colonists  in  that 
they  treated  their  slaves  with  kindness.  Masters  were  placed 
under  bonds  and  they  were  not  permitted  to  whip  their 
slaves  without  authorization  from  the  government. 

When  more  slave-women  were  brought  in  and  negro  fam- 
ilies were  established,  the  slaves  became  less  fierce  and  more 
willing  to  accept  their  lot.  Too,  the  children  born  to  them 
learned  to  use  the  English  language  as  their  own  and  took  up 
the  ways  of  their  masters  and  families  and  the  old  savage 
doings  were  for  the  most  part  forgotten.  Cruelty  to  the 
slaves  then  decreased  and  new  and  less  cruel  laws  were  made 
for  their  government  and  control  or  the  old  laws  and  bar- 
barous punishments  were  not  enforced  or  used  against  them. 
The  revolutionary  movement  did  a  great  deal  toward  giving 
the  negroes  a  better  legal  standing.  This  was  particularly 
true  in  reference  to  free  negroes  and  Indians,  for  many  of 
the  discriminations  against  them  were  abolished. 

Servants.  With  the  settlement  of  this  country,  there  came 
a  great  need  for  laborers.  As  was  given  in  the  foregoing,  the 
slave  trade  arose  and  negroes  were  brought  over  and  sold  as 
slaves,  and  also  Indians  taken  in  war  were  used  as  slaves. 
But  these  sources  were  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  demand  for 
laborers  and  this  caused  the  importation  of  white  help  from 
Europe.  These  people  were  brought  to  America  and  bound 
out  for  a  term  of  service,  which,  before  1650,  was  sometimes 
as  long  as  ten  years  and  often  for  seven  or  eight  j^ears,  and 
then  the  time  was  made  four  or  five  years  for  all  the  colonies. 
These  people  were  of  three  classes — those  who  because  of 
debt  in  the  old  country  or  of  poverty  or  from  other  causes 
bound  themselves  out  for  a  term  of  years  in  which  they  were 
to  pay  their  way,  and  were  known  as  "redemptioners";  the 
second  kind  were  those  who  had  been  trapped  or  induced  to 
go  on  board  ship  and  then  carried  off  to  America,  and  were 
known  as  "kids";  and  the  third  class  were  criminals,  con- 
victed and  transported  for  crime. 

In  the  first  class,  the  redemptioners,  were  found  English 
laborers  who  bound  themselves  to  service  in  America,  hoping 
thereby  to  better  their  condition.  Men  and  women  in  domes- 
tic trouble,  men  having  wives  with  whom  they  could  not  or 

•  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  88-89. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  319 

would  not  live  and  women  having  unbearable  liusbands, 
placed  themselves  in  this  number.  Men  who  were  in  debt 
and  threatened  with  imprisoiunent  sold  themselves  out  to 
save  themselves.  Beside  these  there  were  many  others  who 
wished  to  go  to  America,  but  did  not  have  the  funds  for  the 
passage,  who  bound  themselves  out  for  service  and  thus  se- 
cured the  passage  and  a  place  for  work,  with  the  opportunity 
to  redeem  themselves  within  four  years. 

The  second  class,  "kids,"  were  obtained  through  people 
who  were  called  "spirits."  These  parties  had  been  engaged 
in  spiriting  away  men  who  were  turned  over  to  the  military 
authorities  to  become  soldiers,  and  when  the  demand  for  la- 
borers for  America  became  such  as  to  offer  opportunities  for 
great  profit,  these  "spirits"  turned  their  trade  into  procuring 
people  to  satisfy  this  want  of  the  new  county.  These  men 
were  particularly  active  in  kidnapping  children.  Among  a 
shipload  of  such  children  offered  for  sale  in  Boston  one  day 
in  1730,  there  was  a  boy  who  had  sailed  from  America  with 
his  uncle  who  was  the  captain  of  the  ship.  The  uncle  died  at 
sea  and  the  mate  and  crew  sold  the  boy  to  a  transport-ship 
which  was  passing  them  bound  for  this  country.  The  boy 
served  out  his  term  and  later  became  an  officer  in  the  wars 
with  the  Indians.  One  noteworthy  case  was  that  of  James 
Annesley,  sou  and  heir  of  Lord  Altham.  ^A^hen  thirteen  years 
of  age  he  was  taken  from  Dublin,  at  the  instigation  of  his 
uncle,  and  carried  to  America  and  he  serv^ed  twelve  years  of 
bondage  in  Pennsylvania.  After  this  service  he  returned  to 
his  native  land  and  brought  suit  to  recover  his  father's  titles 
and  estates.  This  suit  was  successful  but  it  was  appealed  to 
the  House  of  Lords  and  the  young  man  died  before  the  de- 
cision was  reached. 

Not  only  were  criminals  that  were  convicted  sent  to  Amer- 
ica, but  when  a  man  was  on  trial  for  a  small  crime  the  officers 
of  the  court  w^ould  make  him  believe  that  he  would  suffer 
severe  punishment,  perhaps  hanging,  so  that  he  would  beg  for 
transportation.  Then  these  prisoners  were  sold  and  the 
money  would  be  kept  by  the  ofiicers.  They  even  went  fur- 
ther, for  innocent  persons  were  arrested  and  condemned  that 
they  might  be  sold  into  the  colonies.  However  strong  were  the 
needs  of  the  colonists  for  laborers,  yet  they  did  not  want  these 
convicts  and  protested  against  their  coming  in.  Some  of  the 
colonial  assemblies  passed  laws  against  such  importation  but 
England  would  not  accept  such,  laws  as  this  course  afforded 


320  The  Historical  Child 

too  good  a  way  of  getting  rid  of  criminals,  "The  hardest 
words  said  against  the  mother  country  in  colonial  prints,  a 
quarter  of  a  century  before  the  Revolution,  sprang  from  the 
bitter  resentment  excited  by  this  practice  of  forcing  criminals 
on  the  plantations  in  spite  of  their  utmost  endeavor  to  keep 
them  out.  One  of  the  most  pungent  newspaper  writers  of 
the  time  compared  England  to  a  father  seeking  to  spread  the 
plague  among  his  children,  or  emptying  filth  upon  their  table ; 
and  Franklin  proposed  to  send  a  present  of  rattlesnakes  for 
the  king's  garden,  as  a  fit  return  for  the  convicts  out  of 
English  jails."* 

Not  only  were  English  laborers  sent  to  the  colonies,  but 
also  great  numbers  of  Germans  were  got  to  sell  themselves, 
sailing  from  Dutch  ports  to  Philadelphia.  Some  of  these  Ger- 
mans were  of  such  a  saving  turn  that  though  they  had  suffi- 
cient funds  to  pay  their  fare  to  America,  they  preferred  to 
sell  themselves  out  for  a  number  of  years  in  order  to  get  free 
transportation.  Others  would  pay  half  their  fare,  while  still 
others  would  pay  their  passage  by  selling  some  of  their  chil- 
dren to  servdce  during  their  minority.  As  the  country  de- 
veloped out  from  Philadelphia,  these  Germans  with  others 
would  be  taken  out  in  droves  of  fift}'-  or  more  by  the  "soul- 
drivers,"  men  who  would  peddle  them  out  to  those  needing 
such  service.  Also  there  were  a  large  number  of  Irish  im- 
ported. 

The  colonists  themselves  helped  to  meet  the  demand  for 
help,  as  they  would  sell  the  town-poor  out  to  the  lowest  bid- 
der, the  one  who  would  agree  to  take  the  least  from  the  town 
for  their  support.  They,  too,  sold  the  crhninals  into  service 
to  work  out  their  sentences.  Children  from  the  almshouses 
were  likewise  bound  out  for  a  term  of  service.  Beside  all 
these  kinds  of  help,  there  were  servant-girls  and  serving-men, 
sometimes  from  well-to-do  families,  and  this  was  particularly 
true  before  there  were  so  many  slaves  and  bondsmen  sent  into 
the  colonies  from  over  the  sea. 

The  laborers  that  were  brought  into  the  colonies  from 
Europe  were  not  altogether  the  most  desirable  persons.  Even 
if  not  from  the  criminal  classes  they  were  too  often  people 
not  of  great  account  in  their  old  homes  and  they  carried  to 
their  new  homes  the  elements  that  made  them  shiftless  and 

♦Eggleston,  Social  conditions  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VI, 
856. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  321 

continued  so  to  keep  them.  Too,  they  were  often  a  source 
of  moral  corruption,  the  degradation  of  the  women-servants 
being  a  continued  source  of  evil.  The  tlirifty  New  England- 
ers  complained  a  great  deal  about  these  servants,  as  being  lazy 
and  trifling  and  of  a  thieving  and  lying  disposition,  anything 
than  worthy  help.  Too,  there  were  many  runaways.  Yet 
among  these  there  were  many  who  were  valuable  and  of  good 
disposition  and  upright  in  character.  This  class  gave  to  this 
country  some  families  of  honorable  distinction.  As  women 
were  scarce  in  the  new  country,  many  of  these  bondmaids 
married  those  who  purchased  them  or  married  into  their  fam- 
ilies. The  larger  part  of  these  people,  when  their  time  of 
bondage  was  completed,  entered  into  the  class  of  small  farm- 
ers or  free  laborers.  There  was  another  element  that  pushed 
out  across  the  frontier  of  settlements  to  get  away  from  law 
and  civilization  and  built  up  centers  where  lawlessness  has 
ever  prevailed.  Still  others  became  the  ancestors  of  shiftless 
and  pauper  and  criminal  families  which  prevail  in  different 
sections  of  this  country,  both  North  and  South. 

It  is  surprising  at  the  number  of  bond-servants  that  were 
in  the  colonies.  They  were  used  in  all  kinds  of  business  and 
it  seemed  impossible  to  do  without  them.  It  is  stated  that  in 
Virginia  in  1670  there  were  six  thousand  English  servants 
and  but  two  thousand  negroes.  "W'hen  it  is  considered  that 
these  bondmen  served  but  for  four  years,  the  importations 
must  have  been  great  to  keep  up  the  numbers. 

AVhen  there  were  not  a  great  number  of  bond-servants,  they 
became  well  known  to  the  families  with  w'hom  they  lived  and 
they  were  well  treated  and  well  eared  for.  As  the  numbers 
increased,  and  especially  when  convicts  and  other  evil  charac- 
ters were  brought  in,  the  treatment  changed  and  often  was 
quite  cruel.  As  flogging  was  one  of  the  main  punishments  of 
the  world  at  that  time,  it  was  greatly  used  in  the  colonies, 
the  servants  being  whipped  naked  with  hickory  rods  and  then 
rubbed  with  brine.  There  were  also  other  ways  of  punish- 
ment, one  being  the  use  of  thumb-screws. 

The  sick  servant,  too,  might  not  be  cared  for,  especially  if 
quite  ill  and  likely  to  die,  as  he  was  not  considered  worth  the 
physician's  bill.  Often  the  slaves  were  treated  better  than 
the  servants,  for  the  slaves  were  property  while  the  servants 
were  freed  at  the  end  of  four  years.  Later  laws  were  enacted 
in  the  colonies  for  the  protection  of  the  servants  and  cruel 


322  The  Historical  Child 

punishments  prohibited.  There  were  plenty  of  instances  of 
fair  treatment  of  servants  by  masters  and  sometimes  even 
they  were  treated  quite  kindly  and  generously. 

The  Home.  "When  the  first  colonists  came  to  America,  they 
were  poorly  equipped  for  preparing  dwelling  places  for 
themselves.  There  were  plenty  of  trees  for  boards,  abund- 
ance of  clay  for  brick,  limestone  in  plenty  for  plaster  and 
mortar,  and  rocks  of  all  kinds  for  building  purposes,  but  the 
settlers  did  not  possess  implements  with  which  to  put  these 
natural  materials  into  forms  for  their  use.  Consequently 
they  lived  at  first  in  primitive  fashion.  Some  would  take 
for  their  home  the  dense  foliage  of  a  tree,  living  under  its 
protection,  while  others  dwelt  in  hollow  trees.  Some  made 
for  themselves  caves,  by  digging  into  a  bank  or  hill,  support- 
ing the  sides  with  brush  and  poles,  and  covering  it  with  poles 
over  which  were  laid  sod  or  bark  or  rushes. 

It  was  natural  for  the  early  settlers  to  imitate  the  dwellings 
of  the  native  inhabitants,  and  so  wigwams  were  used  by  them. 
They  made  them  of  bark  or  of  plaited  rush  or  grass  mats  or 
of  deerskin,  all  placed  over  a  frame,  or  even  they  might 
simply  pile  brush  about  the  frame,  and  in  the  far  South  these 
frames  were  covered  with  layers  of  palmetto  leaves.  In  the 
Middle  and  Southern  states,  with  their  milder  climate,  these 
wigwams  sometimes  were  left  open  on  one  side — the  "half- 
face  camp" — the  fire  being  built  in  front  of  the  opening. 
Sometimes  this  half-face  camp  was  made  more  substantial 
by  being  built  of  logs,  and  again  in  some  cases  it  was  only 
a  booth,  with  sides  and  roof  of  palmetto  leaves. 

The  early  settler  did  have  one  implement  which  became 
wonderfully  useful  to  him,  which  was  the  ax.  He  soon  learned 
to  use  this  in  making  for  himself  and  family  a  more  perma- 
nent dwelling-place,  the  log  cabin.  At  first  the  log  cabin  was 
of  round  logs,  notched  at  the  ends,  and  fitted  together  at  the 
corners,  roofed  with  logs  or  with  bark  on  poles,  having  a  door 
of  rough  slabs  and  hung  on  wooden  hinges  or  straps  of  hide, 
and  if  a  window,  with  a  shutter  similar  to  the  door,  and  with- 
out floor  or  loft.  Then  came  a  floor  of  rough  puncheons  hewn 
out  with  as  and  the  cracks  between  the  logs  were  chinked  with 
pieces  of  wood  and  daubed  over  with  clay.  A  chimney  was 
made  at  one  end  out  of  sticks  of  wood  with  ends  crossed  and 
held  together  with  clay  and  well  plastered  inside  with  clay, 
called  in  New  England,  a  **katted"  chimney.  It  was  not 
very  long  till  better  houses  were  built.     The  logs  were  hewn 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  323 

and  squared,  clapboards  were  made  for  covering,  and  oiled 
paper  was  used  in  the  windows.  Then  came  the  use  of  boards 
and  stone  and  brick  and  plaster  and  nails  and,  later,  paint 
and  glass,  and  some  substantial  houses  were  built.  There 
grew  up  a  style  of  home  for  the  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, corresponding  to  the  needs  of  each  section  and,  no  doubt, 
aided  by  imitation  of  the  old  country,  as,  in  the  South,  in 
Pennsylvania  and  neighboring  parts  of  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware,  with  the  Dutch  in  New  York  and  in  New  England. 

The  most  notable  Southern  home  was  that  of  the  wealthy 
planter,  which  would  seem  to  have  been  fashioned  somewhat 
after  the  old  English  manor.  This  Southern  home  was  in 
a  spacious  home-lot  or  yard,  with  a  large  lawn  in  front  and 
usually  with  fine  trees  about  it.  There  was  a  large,  preten- 
tious house,  the  home  of  the  owner,  and  grouped  about  it 
were  more  or  fewer  smaller  buildings,  as,  kitchen,  overseer's 
house,  negro  cabins,  stable,  coach-house,  hen-house,  smoke- 
house, dove-cote,  milk-room,  tool-house,  brew-house,  spinning- 
house,  and  not  far  away,  a  cider-house. 

The  Quakers  and  Germans  of  Pennsylvania  and  neighbor- 
ing parts  were  quite  different  people  from  the  Southerners 
and  lived  quite  a  different  life.  The  manor  style  of  home  did 
not  exist  with  them.  The  country  houses  were  substantial 
but  not  pretentious,  made  of  hewed  logs  and  some  of  stone 
or  brick,  while  the  barns  were  large,  sometimes  vast.  By  each 
house  was  a  clay  oven  and  nearby  a  smoke-house.  There  was 
usually  a  small  building  enclosing  a  spring,  known  as  the 
spring  house,  for  earing  for  the  milk  and  butter  and  other 
things  during  warm  weather.  Often  there  was  no  shade 
about  the  dwelling-house,  being  open  to  the  sun. 

In  New  York  the  homes  took  the  form  of  those  the  Dutch 
were  used  to  back  in  Holland.  The  houses  were  built  near 
the  sidewalk  with  the  gable-end  to  the  street,  the  top  of 
the  gable  showing  in  corbel-steps.  They  were  built  of  brick, 
or  at  least  the  gable-ends  were,  imported  from  Holland,  and 
the  date  of  erection  and  the  o^vner's  initials  were  shown  by 
bricks  of  different  colors  from  the  others.  The  roof  was  quite 
steep  and  at  first  thatched  but  later  tiles  were  used,  and  with 
a  metal  gutter  projecting  well  out  into  the  street.  There 
was  a  weather-vane  at  the  top  of  the  house,  which  might  have 
been  a  horse,  lion,  goose,  or  fish,  but  the  prevailing  fashion 
was  a  rooster.  The  front  door  was  usually  divided  in  the 
middle   horizontally,  making  an  upper  and   a  lower  half, 


324  The  Historical  Child 

hung  on  leather  hinges  and,  later  on,  heavy  iron  hinges,  and 
in  the  upper  half  were  placed  two  bull's-eyes  of  heavy  green- 
ish glass.  Often  the  front  door  had  a  knocker  of  iron  or 
brass.  The  Dutch  farmhouse  was  similar  to  the  town  house, 
as  described  above,  but  the  cellar  was  built  more  carefully  as 
it  was  necessary  to  be  cool  in  summer  and  warm  in  winter  to 
care  for  the  great  supply  of  food  that  was  stored  in  it. 
After  the  English  came  to  New  York,  the  Dutch  styles  were 
changed  to  English  styles  and  the  houses  of  the  landed  gentry 
became  quite  similar  to  those  of  the  Southern  planters. 

After  the  primitive  sheltering  as  described  in  the  first 
paragraphs  under  this  section,  "The  Home,"  the  people  of 
New  England  built  log  houses,  as  in  the  other  colonies,  and 
for  near  a  half  century,  there  was  scarcely  any  house  larger 
than  a  cottage.  These  houses  w^ere  thatched  and  had  the  kat- 
ted  chimneys.  Oiled  paper  was  used  for  admitting  light, 
glassi  coming  into  use  later.  Paint  was  not  used  at  all  at 
first  and  very  little  used  for  quite  awhile,  either  without  or 
within  the  house. 

After  half  a  century,  particularly  in  the  older  settlements 
in  New  England,  they  began  to  build  larger  houses — many  of 
two  stories  and  also  an  attic  story.  In  building  these  the 
second  story  was  made  to  project  a  foot  or  two  out  over  the 
first  story  and  the  attic  story  also  projected  out  over  the  sec- 
ond story,  which  was  like  their  old  homes  in  England.  Later 
came  another  form  of  house,  which  was  almost  peculiar  to 
New  England.  In  this  the  house  was  two  and  a  half  stories 
in  front,  with  a  sharp  gable,  then  with  a  long  slope  back  to 
a  low  story.  The  low  back  part  of  the  house  was  called  the 
"lean-to"  or  linter.  A  later  style  of  house  was  that  with 
the  gambrel  roof,  in  which  the  upper  part  of  the  roof  was  of  a 
rather  flat  slope  and  then  there  was  a  change  to  quite  a  steep 
slope  for  the  lower  part  of  the  roof.  There  was  usually  a 
chimney  in  the  center  of  these  larger  houses,  of  whatever  style 
of  house,  made  of  stone  or  brick.  "Some  of  the  dwellings  of 
the  rich  were  very  commodious;  the  house  of  Eaton,  the  first 
governor  of  New  Haven  colony,  had  nineteen  fire-places,  and 
that  of  Davenport,  the  first  minister  of  New  Haven,  had 
thirteen."^ 

In  the  very  early  times  of  the  colonists  there  was  but  little 
furniture  in  their  homes  and  that  of  the  rudest  kind.  As 
wealth  came  to  them  and  their  houses  grew  in  size  and  splen- 

"Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home,  Century  magazine,  VII,  877. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States 


325 


dor,  the  furniture  increased  in  amount  and  value.    The  fol- 
lowing well  portrays  this. 

"The  inventories  of  the  household  effects  of  many  of  the 
early  citizens  of  New  York  might  be  given,  to  show  the  fur- 
nishings of  these  homes.  I  choose  the  belongings  of  Captain 
Kidd  to  show  that  'as  he  sailed,  as  he  sailed'  he  left  a  very 
comfortable  home  behind  him.  He  was,  when  he  set  up  house- 
keeping with  his  wife  Sarah  in  1692,  not  at  all  a  bad  fellow, 
and  certainly  lived  well.  He  possessed  these  handsome  and 
abundant  house  furnishings: 


One  dozen  Turkey  work  chairs. 

One  dozen  double-nailed  leather 
chairs. 

Two  dozen  single-nailed  leather 
chairs. 

One  Turkey  worked  carpet. 

Three  suits  of  curtains  and  val- 
ances. 

Four  bedsteads. 

Ten  blankets. 

One  glass  case. 

One  dozen  drinking-glasses. 

Four   tables. 

One  oval  table. 

Three  chests  of  drawers. 

Four  looking-glasses. 

Four  feather  beds,  bolsters,  and 
pillows. 

Two  dressing  boxes. 

One  close  stool. 

One  warming  pan. 

Two  bed  pans. 

Three  pewter  tankards. 

Four  kettles. 

Two  iron  pots. 

One  skillet. 

Three  pairs  of  fire  irons. 

One  pair  of  andirons. 

Three  chafing  dishes. 

One  gridiron. 


One  flesh  fork. 

One  brass  skimmer. 

Four  brass  candlesticks. 

Two  pewter  candlesticks. 

Four  tin  candlesticks. 

One  brass  pestle. 

One  iron  mortar. 

Five  carpets  or  rugs. 

One  screen  frame. 

Two  stands. 

One  desk. 

21/^  dozen  pewter  plates. 

Five  pewter  basins. 

Thirteen  pewter  dishes. 

Five  leather  buckets. 

One  pipe  Madeira  wine. 

One  half -pipe  Madeira  wine. 

Three  barrels  pricked  cider. 

Two  pewter  salt-cellars. 

Three  boxes  smoothing  irons. 

Six  heaters. 

One  pair  small  andirons. 

Three  pairs  tongs. 

Two  fire  shovels. 

Two  fenders. 

One  spit. 

One  jack. 

One  clock. 

One  coat  of  arms. 

Three  quilts. 


Parcel  linen  sheets,  table  cloths,  napkins,  value  thirty  dollars. 

One  hundred  and  four  ounces  silver  plate,  value  three  hundred  dollars, ' '  * 


The  floors  were  not  carpeted  in  colonial  times  till  late  in 
the  period,  and,  really,  a  carpet  in  those  days  was  not  to  place 
on  a  floor  but  it  was  a  cover  for  a  table  or  cupboard.  Some- 
times sand  was  placed  over  the  parlor  floor  and  marked  off 

« Earle,  Colonial  days  in  Old  New  York,  102-103. 


326  The  Historical  Child 

into  ornamental  figures.  The  walls  of  tlie  rooms  were  wains- 
coted and  painted.  In  some  of  the  houses  of  the  wealthy, 
there  were  hung  on  the  walls  rich  cloths  and  tapestries  and 
sometimes  leathern  hangings  and  in  later  times  there  were 
paper-hangings  of  strong  and  heavy  material.  The  ceilings 
were  usually  left  entirely  open,  showing  the  beams  and  raft- 
ers, often  rough  hewn.  Prints  were  placed  on  the  walls, 
beings  pictures  of  ships,  battle  scenes,  and  the  like,  and  there 
were  paintings,  usually  portraits  of  ancestors. 

Cupboards  were  found  in  all  the  houses  and  they  were  of 
various  kinds  and  sizes,  to  fit  into  different  places  and  for 
many  uses.  One  parlor  piece  was  a  kind  of  vn:*iting-desk,  the 
scrutaire,  spelled  in  many  ways  in  old  inventories  and  at 
present  time  secretary.  There  were  tables  of  many  kinds. 
There  were  dressers  and  dressing-glasses  in  frames  of  walnut 
and  olive-wood  and  with  gilt  and  japanned  frames.  The 
chest  was  an  indispensable  piece  of  furniture  and  there  were 
all  kinds  and  sizes  and  of  different  woods  and  some  had  most 
beautiful  carvings  and  inlayings.  These  chests  were  greatly 
needed  for  each  household  had  an  abundance  of  household 
linen  and  many  a  goodly  quantity  of  silver.  The  time  was 
told  by  means  of  sun-dials  and  hour-glasses,  but  there  were 
also  numbers  of  watches  and  clocks  among  the  colonists  and 
later  there  were  all  kinds  of  clocks  for  sale. 

Chairs  were  in  use  very  little,  if  at  all,  in  early  colonial 
days,  as  stools  and  benches  took  their  place.  Later  chaire 
were  greatly  in  use  and  of  many  kinds.  There  were  three 
general  kinds — turned  chairs,  in  which  the  seats  were  often 
of  flags  and  rushes ;  wainscot  chairs,  being  all  of  wood,  includ- 
ing backs  and  seats;  and  covered  chairs,  sometimes  covered 
with  leather  and  again  with  rich  cloths,  velvets,  etc.  Cane 
chairs  were  not  introduced  into  the  colonies  till  quite  a  late 
period. 

The  one  piece  of  furniture  that  more  than  any  other  was 
a  distinguishing  mark  of  class  was  the  bed,  which  graded 
from  none  at  all  in  the  cabin  of  the  very  poor  to  the  great 
bed  of  state  in  the  parlor  of  the  very  wealthy.  There  was, 
sometimes  from  poverty,  sometimes  from  other  causes,  no 
bed  in  the  house  of  a  colonist,  all  sleeping  on  the  floor,  usually 
though,  having  placed  on  it  deer,  buffalo,  or  bear  skins. 
Sometimes  a  pallet  of  bed-clothing  was  spread  on  the  floor. 
In  other  homes  there  was  but  one  bed  for  the  father  and 
mother,  the  rest  of  the  family  sleeping  on  the  floor.     Some- 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  327 

times  the  bed  was  nothing  more  than  a  wooden  box 
with  bedding  on  it.  The  primitive  fashion  of  sleeping  on  the 
floor  might  have  occurred  in  any  or  all  of  the  homes  of  the 
very  early  settlers  and  especially  so  when  they  lived  in  caves 
and  wigwams  and  under  trees,  but  it  was  not  very  long  till 
beds  were  brought  in  from  Europe  or  made  in  this  country 
and  there  became  a  great  variety  in  style  and  price. 

The  trundle-bed  was  used,  being  pushed  under  a  high  bed- 
stead in  the  daytime.  There  were  sometimes  two  standing 
and  two  trundle  beds  in  one  room.  A  common  fonn  of  bed 
in  the  early  times  of  the  colonists  was  one  that  was  built  into 
an  alcove  or  recess  in  a  room,  somewhat  like  a  bench,  with 
doors  about  it,  which  were  kept  closed  to  shut  the  bed  off  from 
view  when  not  being  used.  Another  form  of  bed  was  the 
slawbank.  The  slawbank  was  a  frame  with  a  cord  bottom,  fas- 
tened to  the  wall  of  the  room  on  one  side  with  hinges  and  on 
the  other  side  having  two  legs  to  hold  it  up  from  the  floor. 
When  not  in  use  this  bed  could  be  pulled  up  and  hooked 
against  the  wall  and  there  were  closet-like  doors  to  shut  it  in 
or  curtains  to  drop  down  over  it  to  hide  it  from  view.  The 
bed  of  all  beds  was  the  state-bed,  the  household  idol,  kept 
in  the  parlor,  and  not  even  shown  to  vulgar  eyes  and  used 
only  on  veiy  rare  occasions.  This  was  a  great  carved  four- 
poster,  very  costly,  with  richly  embroidered  coverlets  and 
hangings  of  brilliant  hues. 

There  was  no  lack  of  bedding  after  the  early  struggles,  as 
there  were  good  feather  beds  with  coverlets  of  all  kinds,  an 
abundance  of  linen  sheets,  and  also  flannel  sheets  were  used, 
but  cotton  sheets  were  not  plentiful.  There  were  bolsters 
and  pillows  and  coverings  for  them.  "Such  poor  people  in 
the  colonies  as  had  tastes  too  luxurious  to  enjoy  a  deerskin  on 
the  hearth  were  accustomed  to  fill  their  bed-sacks  and  pillows 
with  fibrous  mistletoe,  the  down  of  the  cat-tail  fiag,  or  with 
feathers  of  pigeons  slaughtered  from  the  innumerable  migrat- 
ing flocks.  The  cotton  from  the  milkweed,  then  called  'silk- 
grass,'  was  used  for  pillows  and  cushions.  In  the  houses  of 
the  prosperous,  good  feather  and  even  down  beds  were  in  use. 
The  Pennsylvania  German  smothered  and  roasted  himself 
between  two  of  these  even  in  summer  nights  and  sometimes 
without  sheets  or  pillows. ' '  ^ 

The  furniture  of  those  early  days  was  usually  set  up  from 
the  floor  on  legs,  as,  chests  of  drawers,  dressing-cases,  side- 

'  Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home.  Century  magazine,  VII,  877. 


328  The  Historical  Child 

boards,  and  the  like  were  often  a  foot  off  the  floor,  so  that 
they  could  be  thoroughly  swept  under.  Cooking  utensils,  too, 
were  often  set  on  feet,  such  as  pots,  kettles,  gridirons,  skillets, 
and  the  other  sorts,  which  was  for  the  purpose  of  placing 
them  above  the  coals  and  ashes  of  the  open  fireplace. 

The  early  dining-table  was  a  board  placed  on  trestles,  whjch 
was  called  a  table-board.  As  boards  were  quite  scarce,  often 
these  table-boards  were  made  from  boxes  and  chests  which 
came  from  England  containing  goods.  It  was  not  long,  how- 
ever till  there  were  tables  of  different  kinds.  One  kind,  called 
a  drawing-table,  had  leaves  so  that  it  could  be  extended,  a 
kind  of  extension-table.  Another  kind  had  flaps  at  either 
end  which  could  be  turned  down  on  hinges  or  held  up  by 
means  of  brackets.  There  was  another  kind  in  which  by  the 
use  of  hinges  the  top  could  be  fixed  for  a  table  or  turned 
about  to  form  the  back  of  a  chair.  Usually  a  long,  narrow 
bench,  without  a  back,  was  used  with  the  table-board  instead 
of  stools  or  chairs,  and  the  children  did  not  always  get  to  use 
this  bench  as  they  often  had  to  stand  behind  the  older  people 
while  eating. 

As  the  table  was  called  a  table-board  so  the  table-cloth  was 
called  a  board-cloth.  Although  the  table-cloth  might  have 
been  coarse  it  was  bleached  out  as  white  as  any  at  present  and 
later  there  were  quite  a  variety  imported  from  the  old  coun- 
try. Napkins  were  in  plenty,  as  many  or  more  were  in  use 
as  at  present.  The  principal  article  on  the  table  was  the 
trencher,  which  ordinarily  was  a  block  of  wood  about  a  foot 
square  and  three  or  four  inches  thick  and  hollowed  out  in  the 
middle  into  a  sort  of  bowl.  Into  this  the  food  was  placed — 
porridge,  meat,  vegetables,  etc. — and  two  people  ate  from 
one  trencher,  or  there  was  a  trencher  for  each  person  if  the 
family  were  quite  extravagant  in  their  ways.  The  next  im- 
portant article  was  the  salt-cellar,  which  was  set  in  the  center 
of  the  table  and  quality  folks  were  seated  "above  the  salt," 
that  is,  toward  the  end  where  sat  the  host  and  hostess.  The 
abundance  of  napkins  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
forks  were  not  known  to  the  early  colonists.  Spoons  were  in 
general  use  and  took  the  place  of  forks,  as  most  of  the  food 
was  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  spoon.  Porringers,  little  shal- 
low dishes  with  handles,  were  in  great  use  and  especially  by 
the  children,  and  there  was  a  kind,  often  without  a  handle, 
called  a  posnet. 

The   cooking  of  the  early  times  was  done   in  fireplaces. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  329 

Thefe  were  various  kinds  of  utensils  for  cooking,  as  pots, 
kettles,  gridirons,  skillets,  toasting-forks,  frying-pans,  and  the 
like.  A  very  important  utensil  was  the  Dutch  oven,  with 
which  M^as  used  a  long-handled  shovel,  the  peel  or  slice,  for 
placing  the  food  to  be  cooked  well  within  the  oven.  One 
important  function  of  cooking  was  the  proper  roasting  of 
meats.  At  the  first  the  roast  was  suspended  from  a  string 
over  the  fire,  the  string  being  given  an  occasional  twist,  usu- 
ally the  task  of  a  child.  Then  there  was  invented  a  metal 
suspensory  machine,  which  had  clockwork  to  turn  the  roast 
regularly.  Also  the  turnspit  dog  was  introduced  into  the 
colonies,  this  dog  being  trained  to  work  in  a  revolving  cylin- 
der and  thus  keep  the  roast  turning  before  the  fire. 

Many  of  the  articles  for  the  table  were  made  of  wood,  such 
as  trenchers,  tankards,  bottles,  cups,  and  dishes.  The  shells 
of  cocoanuts  were  made  into  goblets  and  dippers  and  often 
mounted  in  pewter  and  sometimes  even  in  silver.  Horn  was 
used  for  spoons  and  drinking-cups.  Pitchers,  bottles,  drink- 
ing-cups  and  jugs  were  made  of  leather,  which  sometimes 
were  tipped  with  silver.  Gourds  were  used  for  drinking-cups 
and  dippers.  There  were  very  few  tin  vessels  among  the 
colonists  and  even  iron  was  not  so  gi'eatly  in  use,  being  used 
for  andirons  and  pots  and  pans  and  some  other  vessels.  There 
were  brass  and  copper  pots  and  kettles,  which  were  quite 
costly  and  highly  prized  by  the  owners  and  well  cared  for. 
Silver  was  not  greatly  in  use  and  yet  quite  a  number  of  the 
families  had  silver  spoons  and  others  also  had  silver  drinking- 
cuf)s,  salt-cellars,  candle-sticks,  and  other  kinds  of  silver 
vessels.  Pewter  was  the  metal  of  the  colonists.  Much  of  the 
tableware  was  made  of  this  metal  and  found  in  each  house- 
hold. There  were  spoons  and  plates  and  dishes  and  cups  and 
porringers  and  many  other  vessels  of  pewter.  Often  a  family 
prided  itself  on  having  a  full  pewter  set  and  would  keep  it 
as  bright  and  shining  as  they  would  silverware,  if  they  had 
such.  A  good  thing  about  pewter  was  that  when  dishes  and 
plates  became  worn  they  could  easily  be  recast  into  new  pew- 
ter spoons.  Glass  was  but  little  in  use  among  the  early  col- 
onists, perhaps  nothing  beyond  bottles,  which  though  were  of 
different  shapes  and  kinds  and  the  glass  was  of  a  very  coarse, 
poor  quality.  Little  chinaware,  if  any  at  all,  was  found 
among  the  early  colonists,  and  this,  perhaps,  only  among  the 
Dutch  settlers.  Later,  china  was  brought  in  and  it  increased 
in  use  till  in  Revolutionary  times  it  became  to  be  common 


330  The  Historical  Child 

and  to  take  the  place  of  pewter.    In  the  earlier  times  there 
were  some  vessels  of  stoneware,  such  as  drinking-jugs. 

The  colonial  houses  were  heated  by  means  of  fireplaces  and 
in  the  kitchen  the  fireplace  was  also  used  for  cooking.  Some 
of  these  fireplaces  were  very  large,  "sometimes  wide  enough 
to  drive  a  cart  and  horses  between  the  jambs.  .  .  .  Logs 
were  sometimes  drawn  on  to  the  ample  hearth  by  a 
horse. "  ®  "In  the  old  Phillips  farmhouse  at  Wickf ord, 
Rhode  Island,  is  a  splendid  chimney  over  twenty  feet 
square. "  ®  As  fuel  grew  scarce,  sometimes  these  fireplaces 
were  made  smaller  by  closing  them  up  in  part  and  building 
a  "little  chimney"  within  them.  For  holding  the  fuel  in  the 
fireplace  were  andirons,  which  sometimes  were  of  three  sizes 
to  hold  logs  at  different  heights,  and  there  were  fire-dogs  or 
creepers,  which  were  smaller  than  the  andirons  and  were 
placed  between  them.  In  the  kitchen  fireplace  there  also  were 
cob-irons,  on  which  were  hooks  to  hold  the  spit  and  dripping- 
pan,  and  a  crane  or  chain  with  pot-hooks  to  hold  kettles.  In 
Pennsylvania  the  Germans  had  stoves.  "While  the  English 
colonial  house  would  have  two  chimneys,  one  at  either  end 
and  with  a  fireplace  in  each,  the  German  house  would  have 
a  single  chimney  in  the  middle  and  use  stoves.  These  stoves 
were  of  different  kinds.  One  kind  was  built  from  the  outer 
wall  into  the  house,  with  the  opening  for  feeding  the  stove 
on  the  outside  of  the  house  and  the  back  of  the  stove  inside 
the  house.  In  the  second  stoiy  they  sometimes  had  drums, 
connected  with  the  stoves,  for  heating  the  rooms  there.  Stoves 
were  later  introduced  into  the  other  colonies,  and  especially 
so  as  fuel  became  scarce.  In  1742  Benjamin  Franklin 
brought  out  his  "New  Pennslyvania  Fireplace,"  a  rather 
complicated  aft'air,  in  which  both  wood  and  coal  could 
be  used,  and  which  later  grew  into  the  form  now  known  as 
the  "Franklin*  Stove."  As  the  bedrooms  of  the  colonists 
were  freezing  cold  in  winter,  a  warming-pan  was  used  to  heat 
up  the  bed  before  getting  into  it  for  the  night.  The  warm- 
ing-pan was  round,  about  a  foot  wide  and  four  or  five  inches 
deep,  with  a  perforated  metal  top  and  a  long  wooden  handle. 
This  was  filled  with  hot  coals  from  the  fireplace  and  placed 
between  the  bed-linen  and  moved  rapidly  about  for  warming 
without  scorching  the  bedding.  Wood,  of  course,  was  very 
plentiful  at  first  and  it  was  used  quite  freely,  the  immense 

*  Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home,  Century  magazine,  VII,  879. 
"Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  68. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  331 

fireplaces  consuming  vast  quantities  of  it.  As  the  forests 
disappeared  and  wood  became  scarce,  especially  in  the  to-wms, 
coal  was  brought  from  across  the  ocean  as  it  sometimes  was 
found  to  be  cheaper  when  used  with  stoves  than  was  the 
wood. 

* '  The  discomfort  of  a  colonial  house  in  winter-time  has  been 
ably  set  forth  by  Charles  Francis  Adams  in  his  'Three 
Episodes  of  Massachusetts  History.'  Down  the  great  chim- 
neys blew  the  icy  blasts  so  fiercely  that  Cotton  Mather  noted 
on  a  January  Sabbath,  in  1697,  as  he  shivered  before  '  a  great 
Fire,  that  the  Juices  forced  out  at  the  end  of  short  billets  of 
wood  by  the  heat  of  the  flame  on  which  they  were  laid,  yett 
froze  into  ice  on  their  coming  out.'  Judge  Sewall  wrote, 
twenty  years  later,  'An  Extraordinary  Cold  Storm  of  Wind 
and  Snow.  Bread  was  frozen  at  Lord's  Table.  .  .  . 
Though  'twas  so  Cold  yet  John  Tuckerman  was  baptized.  At 
six  o'clock  my  ink  freezes  so  that  I  can  hardly  write  by  a 
good  fire  in  my  Wives  Chamber' — and  the  pious  man  adds 
(we  hope  in  truth)  'Yet  was  very  Comfortable  at  Meeting.' 
Cotton  Mather  tells,  in  his  pompous  fashion,  of  a  cold  winter 's 
day  four  years  later.  '  'Tis  Dreadful  cold,  ray  ink  glass  in 
my  standish  is  froze  and  splitt  in  my  very  stove.  My  ink  in 
my  pen  suffers  a  congelation.'  If  sitting-rooms  were  such 
refrigerators,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the  chilled  colonists 
wished  to  sleep  in  beds  close  curtained  with  heavy  woolen 
stuffs,  or  in  slaw-bank  beds  by  the  kitchen  fire. 

"The  settlers  builded  as  well  as  they  knew  to  keep  their 
houses  warm ;  and  while  the  vast  and  virgin  forests  supplied 
abundant  and  accessible  wood  for  fuel.  Governor  Eaton's 
nineteen  great  fireplaces  and  Parson  Davenport's  thirteen, 
could  be  well  filled ;  but  by  1741  Franklin  could  write  of  these 
big  chimneys  as  the  'fireplace  of  our  fathers';  for  the  forests 
had  all  disappeared  in  the  vicinity  of  the  towns,  and  the 
chimneys  had  shrunk  in  size.  Sadly  did  the  early  settlers 
need  warmer  houses,  for,  as  all  antiquarian  students  have 
noted,  in  olden  days  the  cold  was  more  piercing,  began  to 
nip  and  pinch  earlier  in  November,  and  lingered  further  into 
spring;  winter  rushed  upon  the  settlers  with  heavier  blasts 
and  fiercer  storms  than  we  now  have  to  endure.  And,  above 
all,  they  felt  with  sadder  force  'the  dreary  monotony  of  a 
New  England  winter,  which  leaves  so  large  a  blank,  so  melan- 
choly a  death-spot,  in  lives  so  brief  that  they  ought  to  be 
all  summer-time.'    Even  John  Adams  in  his  day  so  dreaded 


332  The  Historical  Child 

the  tedious  bitter  New  England  winter  that  he  longed  to 
hibernate  like  a  dormouse  from  autumn  to  spring. ' '  ^" 

The  early  settlera  learned  from  the  Indians  to  use  for  light 
the  pine-knots  of  the  pitch-pine.  This  was  called  candlewood 
in  New  England  and  lightivood  in  the  South.  This  wood  was 
split  into  pieces  so  as  to  be  used  as  a  kind  of  torch  and  be- 
cause of  the  smoke  and  the  pitch  droppings  as  it  burned,  it 
was  usually  placed  in  a  corner  of  the  fireplace.  As  fish  was 
abundant  in  the  streams,  oil  was  obtained  from  them  and 
used  in  a  rude  kind  of  lamp,  but  it  would  seem  that  this  fish 
oil  was  not  greatly  used  for  light.  "Wax  from  bees  was  also 
used,  which  was  made  into  a  kind  of  candle  by  heating  the 
wax  and  pressing  it  around  a  wick.  Tallow  and  grease  were 
used  in  making  rush  lights,  wherein  the  pith  from  the  com- 
mon rushes  was  used,  the  outer  covering  being  stripped  off, 
and  then  the  pith  was  dipped  into  the  heated  tallow  or  grease 
and  this  was  then  let  harden.  Deer  suet,  moose  fat,  and 
bear's  grease  were  saved  and  tried  out  for  candles,  but  they 
were  not  greatly  used.  Quite  a  good  deal  of  wax  from  the 
wax  myrtle  tree  was  gathered  and  used  for  candles,  whose 
berry  has  a  thick  coating  of  wax,  and  this  tree  was  also 
called  the  bayberry  tree,  tallow  shrub,  and  candle-berry  tree. 
One  great  source  for  light  came  from  the  whale-fisheries,  the 
oil  from  the  spermaceti  whale  furnishing  quite  an  important 
material  for  the  making  of  candles.  The  most  common  of  all 
material  and  the  greatest  used  was  the  tallow  from  the  cattle, 
which  increased  in  number  and  became  quite  an  important 
industry  in  the  colonies. 

In  the  making  of  tallow  candles  there  were  candle-rods, 
sticks  about  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  long,  and  to  each  stick 
were  tied  six  to  eight  candle-wicks.  The  tallow  was  melted 
and  the  wicks  in  the  rods  allowed  to  drop  down  and  then 
were  dipped  into  the  melted  tallow.  The  rod  was  then  placed 
across  the  backs  of  two  chairs  or  hung  across  two  poles 
placed  across  chairs  or  stools,  and  then  a  second  stick  would 
be  dipped  and  hung  up  to  drip,  and  so  on,  and  when  the  first 
rod  had  dried  sufficiently  it  was  dipped  a  second  time  and  it 
was  so  continued  to  be  dipped  till  the  required  sized  candle 
was  made.  Later  moulds  came  into  use,  made  of  tin  or  pew-, 
ter,  a  half  dozen  individual  moulds  being  joined  together, 
sometimes  a  dozen  and  a  sometimes  as  many  as  two  dozen. 
The  wick  was  fastened  to  a  nail  or  wire  and  then  let  down  into 

"Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  128-129. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  333 

the  center  of  the  mould,  the  nail  holding  across  the  top,  and 
the  melted  tallow  was  then  poured  in  around  the  wick.  The 
making  of  candles  in  the  first  way  required  a  good  deal  of 
care  and  skill  and  it  was  slow  work,  two  hundred  candles  a 
day  being  considered  an  extra  good  day's  work.  When 
moulds  came  into  use,  there  were  candle-makers  who  would 
go  from  house  to  house  with  their  moulds  to  make  the  needed 
supply  for  the  home.  On  account  of  the  trouble  in  making 
candles,  the  colonists  were  very  careful  of  them.  They  were 
carefully  packed  away  and  all  pieces  saved  and  also  a  little 
contrivance,  called  a  save-all,  made  of  pins  and  rings,  was 
used  to  hold  up  the  candle  to  the  last  till  all  was  used.  The 
candles  were  sometimes  placed  in  a  rough  candlestick  made 
of  four  pieces  of  wood  fastened  to  a  small  piece  of  board  so  as 
to  form  a  receptacle  for  the  candle,  and  also  in  rude  chande- 
liers, candle-beams,  made  of  crossed  sticks  of  wood.  There 
were  candlesticks  of  pewter,  iron,  brass,  and  silver.  There 
also  were  sconces,  called  candle-arms  or  prongs.  Snuffers 
were  used,  and  snuffers  trays. 

Lamps  were  in  use  by  the  colonists  but  the  early  ones  were 
of  rude  form.  Among  the  earliest  in  use  was  the  betty-lamp, 
which  consisted  of  a  shallow  basin,  two  or  three  inches  wide 
and  an  inch  deep,  with  a  nose  or  spout  an  inch  or  two  long. 
They  were  rectangular,  oval,  round,  or  triangular  in  shape. 
They  were  set  on  the  table  or  stand  but  often  suspended  from 
a  nail  on  the  wall  by  a  hook  and  chain  attached  to  the  lamp. 
They  were  filled  with  tallow,  grease,  or  oil  and  a  cotton  rag 
or  a  coarse  wick  was  placed  in  the  contents  and  hung  out 
from  the  nose  of  the  lamp.  The  phcebe-lamp  was  similar  to 
the  betty-lamp,  but  some  had  a  nose  at  either  end  and  used  a 
double  wick.  The  lamps  were  made  of  iron  or  pewter  and 
some  of  brass.  Later  glass  lamps  came  into  use  and  were  of 
various  shapes  and  sizes. 

The  colonists  had  to  be  quite  careful  not  to  let  the  fire 
go  out  in  the  fireplace  for  there  were  very  poor  means  for 
striking  a  light.  In  case  there  was  no  fire  or  light  in  the 
house,  some  one  would  go  to  the  home  of  a  neighbor  with  a 
shovel  or  covered  pan,  and  sometimes  with  only  a  piece  of 
green  bark,  and  get  coals  to  bring  back  for  relighting  the  fire. 
This  was  usually  the  task  of  a  small  boy.  For  striking  a 
light,  a  flint  and  steel  with  tinder  were  used.  By  striking 
the  flint  with  the  steel  a  spark  was  produced  which  was 
caught  by  the   tinder   and  was  then   blown  into  a  flame. 


334  The  Historical  Child 

Another  means  was  by  setting  off  powder  in  the  pan.  of  a  gun 
of  that  time  which  would  set  a  piece  of  tow  on  fire.  Later, 
matches  were  made  by  dipping  small  pieces  of  wood  into 
melted  sulphur,  which  could  be  set  on  fire  by  placing  them  in 
contact  with  the  blaze  on  the  hearth  or  of  a  light  and  then 
they  could  be  carried  about  to  light  fires  and  candles  and 
lamps.  Such  means  of  obtaining  light  were  in  use  down  to  a 
late  time,  for  friction  matches  did  not  come  into  use  until 
the  nineteenth  century. 

Women.  During  the  earlier  times  in  the  settlement  of 
America,  the  women  had  a  hard  time.  They  had  to  endure 
the  hardships  of  a  new  country  and  to  forego  many  of  the 
things  that  in  an  old  country  make  women's  lives  the  more 
easy.  They  were  never  thought  to  be  quite  the  equals  of  men 
and  the  following  well  portrays  how  they  were  looked  upon 
by  the  men  of  the  time : 

**If  some  of  our  foremothers  were  intelligent  and  thought- 
ful, it  was  rather  by  natural  gift  than  from  instruction.  Men 
of  cultivation  seem  to  have  found  it  a  little  irksome  to  get 
down  to  the  level  of  topics  deemed  sufficiently  simple  for  the 
understanding  of  women.  'Conversation  with  ladies,'  says 
William  Byrd,  'is  liked  whipped  syllabub,  very  pretty,  but 
nothing  in  it.'  The  most  accomplished  gentlemen  of  that 
time  thought  it  necessary  to  treat  their  lady  friends  to  flat- 
tery so  gross  that  it  would  not  be  bearable  now.  Byrd,  great 
lord  that  he  was,  repaid  his  lady  friends  for  courteous  and 
hospitable  entertainment  at  their  houses  by  kissing  them  at 
his  departure,  and  excused  himself  for  leaving  one  gentle- 
man's house  by  assuring  the  lady  that  her  beauty  would  spoil 
his  devotions  if  he  remained.  "^^ 

"Yet  tho  colonial  usage  kept  women  in  retirement,  the 
colonial  South  had  notable  women  that  vied  with  their  as- 
sertive sisters  of  the  North  in  the  world  of  affairs.  There 
was  no  marked  difference  between  the  sections  in  the  extent 
to  which  women  took  up  independent  careers,  or  assumed  re- 
sponsibilities beyond  housewifery. ' '  ^^ 

"In  South  Carolina  women  took  an  active  part  in  all  sorts 
of  affairs  and  seem  to  have  enjoyed  a  certain  standing  not 
gained  by  women  elsewhere  in  the  colonies.  The  men  often 
had  to  be  absent  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  a  woman  to 
be  alone  for  several  months  in  charge  of  a  great  plantation 

"  Eggleston,  Social  life  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VIII,  403. 
"Calhoun,  Social  history  of  the  American  family,  I,  276. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  335 

with  hundreds  of  slaves  with  no  white  man  to  assist  her  save 
the  overseer.  Women  often  taught  their  o^vn  children.  Eliza 
Lucas  studied  law  and  while  studying  it  drew  up  two  wills 
and  was  made  trustee  in  another.  In  the  Revolution  the 
women  were  often  more  stalwart  than  the  men,  urging  hus- 
bands and  fathers  not  to  give  in  in  order  to  save  their  prop- 
erty and  bearing  cheerfully  hardship  and  banishment.  In  all 
the  Southern  colonies  there  were  keen  gentlewomen  that  took 
up  tracts  of  land  and  cleared  and  cultivated  their  estates. 
Southern  women  were  not  outdone  by  the  business  women  of 
the  North.  "^3 

In  the  old  Dutch  times  in  New  York,  possibly  women 
touched  closer  to  equality  with  men  than  in  any  other  colony 
or  at  any  other  time.  They  occupied  so  high  a  place  that  they 
sometimes  sat  on  juries.  They  engaged  in  business  of  various 
kinds.  They  traded  with  the  Indians,  they  engaged  in  com- 
merce with  other  colonies  and  the  old  country,  they  conducted 
stores,  and  they  entered  into  other  kinds  of  businesses.  They 
proved  themselves  quite  as  shrewd  as  the  men  and  well  able 
to  look  after  their  own  affairs. 

At  least  there  was  one  woman  of  a  scientific  turn  of  mind. 
"Jane  Golden,  the  daughter  of  Governor  Cadawallader  Col- 
den,  was  of  signal  service,  not  in  trade,  but  in  science.  A 
letter  written  by  her  father  explains  her  interest  and  use- 
fulness : 

'Botany  is  an  amusement  which  may  be  made  agreeable 
to  the  ladies  who  are  often  at  a  loss  to  fill  up  their  time. 
Their  natural  curiosity  and  the  pleasure  they  take  in  the 
beauty  and  variety  of  dress  seem  to  fit  them  for  it. 

'I  have  a  daughter  who  has  an  inclination  to  reading,  and 
a  curiosity  for  Natural  Philosophy  or  Natural  Historj^  and 
a  sufficient  curiosity  for  attaining  a  competent  knowledge.  I 
took  the  pains  to  explain  Linnaeus'  system,  and  to  put  it  into 
an  English  form  for  her  use  by  freeing  it  from  technical 
terms,  which  was  easily  done,  by  using  two  or  three  words  in 
the  place  of  one.  She  is  now  grown  very  fond  of  the  study, 
and  has  made  such  a  progress  in  it  as,  I  believe,  would  please 
you,  if  you  saw  her  performance.  Though  she  could  not  have 
been  persuaded  to  learn  the  terms  at  first,  she  now  under- 
stands to  some  degree  Linnffius'  characters — notwithstanding 
she  does  not  understand  Latin.  She  has  already  a  pretty 
large  volume  in  writing  of  the  description  of  plants.       She 

"Calhoun,  Social  history  of  the  American  family,  I,  278. 


336  The  Historical  Child 

has  shewn  a  method  of  taking  the  impression  of  the  leaves  on 
paper  with  printer's  ink,  by  a  simple  kind  of  rolling  press 
which  is  of  use  in  distinguishing  the  species.  No  description 
in  words  alone,  can  give  so  clear  an  idea,  as  when  assisted 
with  a  picture.  She  has  the  impression  of  three  hundred 
plants  in  the  manner  you'll  see  by  the  samples.  That  you 
may  have  some  conception  of  her  performance,  and  her  man- 
ner of  describing,  I  propose  to  enclose  some  samples  in  her 
own  writing,  some  of  which  I  think  are  new  genera.' 

"Peter  Collinson  said  she  was  the  first  lady  to  study  the 
Linnsean  system,  and  deserved  to  have  her  name  celebrated; 
and  John  Ellis,  writing  of  her  to  Linnaus  in  1758,  asks  that 
a  genus  be  named,  for  her,  Coldenella.  She  was  also  a  cor- 
respondent of  Dr.  Whyte  of  Edinburgh^  and  many  learned 
societies  in  Europe.  Walter  Rutherfurd  enumerates  her 
talents,  and  caps  them  with  a  glowing  tribute  to  her  cheese- 
making.  ' '  ^* 

Marriage.  There  never  occurred  in  the  colonies  the  very 
early  marriages  of  children,  such  as  had  ben  in  vogue 
in  England  some  years  before  the  colonies  arose  in  America 
but  which  had  grown  very  much  less  in  England  at  this  time. 
Yet  they  occurred  earl}'  enough  in  the  colonies,  as  there  were 
marriages  at  fifteen  and  sixteen  and  less,  for  being  a  new 
country  women  were  scarce  and  they  were  rarely  allowed  to 
become  very  old  before  they  were  in  demand  as  wives.  A 
young  woman  who  passed  twenty  years  of  age  without  being 
married  was  rare  indeed  and  it  could  not  be  understood  why 
such  should  be  the  case. 

\Vooing  in  those  days  w^as  done  under  much  difficulties. 
In  Boston  a  young  man  had  to  be  very  particular  to  get  the 
consent  of  the  young  woman's  parents  or  guardians  before 
he  entered  upon  his  wooing,  and  even  then  he  had  to  proceed 
cautiously  or  else  fines,  imprisonments,  or  the  whipping-post 
would  be  applied  to  him.  Yet  it  was  not  alwaj's  demurely 
done  in  Old  New  England,  as,  in  1660  in  New  Haven,  one 
day,  ' '  they  sat  down  together ;  his  arm  being  about  her ;  and 
her  arm  upon  his  shoulder  or  about  his  neck ;  and  hee  kissed 
her  and  shee  kissed  him,  or  they  kissed  one  another,  continu- 
ing in  this  posture  about  half  an  hour,  as  Maria  and  Susan 
testified."  ^^  In  New  London  in  1670  two  lovers  were  accused 
and  tried  for  sitting  together  on  the  Lord's  Day  under  an 

"Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  164-166. 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  42. 


The  Child  m  Earlier  United  States  337 

apple  tree  in  an  orcliard.  On  account  of  the  difficulties  of 
wooing,  there  came  into  use  two  most  peculiar  modes  of 
courting,  known  as  "bundling"  and  the  " courting-stick. " 

The  courting-stick  was  six  feet  or  so  long,  about  an  inch 
in  diameter,  hollow,  and  with  an  enlargement  at  each  end 
for  speaking  into  and  for  hearing  from.  A  picture  in 
Harper's  AVeekly  for  November  29,  1900,  no  doubt  histori- 
cally correct,  represents  the  father  seated  in  the  fireplace,  the 
mother  busy  spinning,  by  the  mother  the  daughter  sitting  on 
the  bench  knitting,  while  the  young  man  is  sitting  across  the 
room,  with  cider  mug  and  pitcher  beside  him,  and  he  is  just 
in  the  act  of  raising  the  courting-stick  to  his  mouth,  the  other 
end  of  which  is  lying  in  the  lap  of  the  young  lady.  To 
complete  the  picture,  a  younger  sister  is  crouched  behind  the 
high  back  of  the  settee  upon  which  her  sister  is  sitting,  ready 
to  overhear  what  the  young  man  would  send  over  through 
the  stick,  so  as  to  be  prepared  to  tease  her  sister  on  the 
morrow. 

According  to  the  only  one  who  has  given  us  a  general  his- 
tory of  the  subject  "bundling  was  practiced  in  two  forms; 
first  between  strangers,  as  a  simple  domestic  make-shift  ar- 
rangement, often  arising  from  the  necessities  of  a  new  coun- 
try, and  by  no  means  peculiar  to  America;  and,  secondly  be- 
tween lovers,  who  shared  the  same  couch,  with  the  mutual 
understanding  that  innocent  endearment  should  not  be  ex- 
ceeded. "^^  "Webster's  New  International  Dictionary  gives 
the  following:  "To  bundle — To  sleep  or  lie  in  the  same  bed 
without  undressing: — said  of  a  man  and  woman,  esp,  lovers." 
The  Century  Dictionary  defines  it  thus :  "  To  bundle — In  New 
England  (in  early  times)  and  in  Wales,  to  sleep  in  the  same 
bed  without  undressing;  applied  to  the  custom  of  men  and 
women,  especially  sweethearts,  thus  sleeping." 

Writers  upon  the  subject  are  at  a  loss  to  account  for  bund- 
ling having  been  permitted  among  a  people  so  austere  as 
were  the  early  New  Englanders ;  who  highly  esteemed  virtue 
and  severely  punished  unchastity.  Yet  bundling  was  openly 
practiced  and  perhaps  "in  its  open  recognition  lay  its  re- 
deeming feature.  There  was  no  secrecy,  no  thought  of  con- 
cealment; the  bundling  was  done  under  the  supervision  of 
mother  and  sisters. "  ^^  It  is  a  question  whether  such  a  cus- 
tom showed  coarseness  and  viciousness  in  the  people  or  if  it 

"Stiles,  Bundling:     Its  orig:in,  progress,  and  decline  in  America,  13. 
"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  64. 


338  The  Historical  Child 

really  showed  a  hospitality  in  that  the  guest  was  thus  found 
a  place  to  rest  for  the  night,  nevertheless  the  smallness  of  the 
dwelling  or  the  crowded  condition  of  the  rooms.  Again,  the 
severe  New  England  climate  would  make  it  next  to  impossible 
for  the  lover  otherwise  to  have  been  made  comfortable  through 
the  night  without  a  great  outlay  of  fuel,  and  a  corresponding 
waste  of  lights,  which  would  be  carefully  considered  by  the 
frugal  colonists.  Yet  this  custom  was  not  altogether  confined 
to  the  lower  and  poorer  classes.  In  all  probabilities  this  did 
not  originate  with  the  colonists  but  was  brought  over  from 
the  mother  country,  as  it  existed  in  Ireland,  Scotland,  and 
Wales,  and  in  a  form  in  Holland. 

Bundling,  it  would  seem,  did  not  exist  among  the  colonists 
outside  of  New  England  and  Pennsylvania,  while  among  the 
Dutch  in  New  York  the  somewhat  similar  form  of  "questing" 
was  known.  It  was  not  considered  to  any  great  extent  wrong 
until  the  young  colonial  soldiers  returning  to  their  homes 
after  the  French  and  Indian  wars  took  with  them  the  vices 
of  the  camp  and  thus  brought  this  practice  into  disrepute. 
Jonathan  Edwards  preached  against  it  and  other  ministers 
joined  in  and  the  custom  finally  died  out.  It  was  at  the  great- 
est height  among  the  colonists  in  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  and  yet  it  reached  down  into  the  nineteenth 
century,  being  found  in  the  region  of  Cape  Cod  as  late  as 
1827,  and  in  Pennsylvania  even  as  late  as  1845,  such  being 
shown  by  a  court  record,  ''and  where  it  probably  still  lingers 
in  out-of-the-way  places  among  people  both  of  English  and 
of  German  extraction."  ^^ 

Wooing  was  not  always  so  difficult  as  to  need  the  courting- 
stiek  or  bundling  to  help  it  along,  for  some  times  it  was 
done  in  a  hurry  and  in  most  any  place.  There  were  cases  in 
New  England  where  a  man  would  seek  out  a  woman,  call  at 
her  home,  tell  her  his  need  of  a  wife,  get  her  consent,  and 
send  in  their  desire  for  marriage  to  the  town  clerk  to  be  pub- 
lished, and  all  this  accomplished  in  one  day  or  even  a  few 
hours.  In  the  time  of  the  Dutch  in  New  York,  one  day  a 
widower  saw  a  young  lady  milking  and  falling  in  love  with 
her  told  his  love  at  once.  Before  she  had  finished  milking, 
he  jumped  on  his  horse  and  rode  in  a  great  hurry  to  town, 
obtained  his  license,  and  hurriedly  returned  and  took  off  his 
bride. 

"  Eggleston,  Social  life  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VIII, 
390. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  339 

Love  was  not  the  only  motive  for  marriage  in  New  Eng- 
land, for  it  was  quite  customary  to  make  inquiries  concern- 
ing the  bride's  portion,  and  before  marriage  to  arrange  what 
should  go  with  her.  Sometimes  a  father-in-law  was  sued  by 
his  son-in-law  for  this  portion. 

There  were,  too,  other  ways  of  getting  wives  beside  wooing 
them,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  advertisement,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Boston  Evening  Post  for  February  23,  1759 : 

"To  the  Ladies.  Any  young  Lady  between  the  Age  of 
Eighteen  and  twenty  three  of  a  Midling  Stature ;  brown  Hair, 
regular  Features  and  a  Lively  Brisk  Eye;  Of  Good  Morals 
&  not  Tinctured  with  anything  that  may  Sully  so  Distinguish- 
able a  Form  possessed  of  3  or  400£  entirely  her  own  Disposal 
and  where  there  will  be  no  necessity  of  going  Through  the 
tiresome  Talk  of  addressing  Parents  or  Guardians  for  their 
Consent:  Such  a  one  by  leaving  a  Line  directed  for  A.  W., 
at  the  British  Coffee  House  in  King  Street  appointing  where 
an  Interview  may  be  had  will  meet  with  a  Person  who  flat- 
ters himself  he  shall  not  be  thought  Disagreeable  by  any 
Lady  answering  the  above  description.  N.  B.  Profound 
Secrecy  will  be  observ'd.  No  Trifling  Answers  will  be  re- 
garded. ' '  ^^ 

Among  the  New  England  colonists  there  was  a  formal 
ceremony  of  betrothal,  called  a  pre-contract  or  contraction. 
There  was  made  a  solemn  promise  of  marriage  between  the 
couple  before  two  witnesses  and  often  there  was  a  sermon 
preached  in  the  church  upon  it  by  the  minister,  wherein  it 
was  the  custom  to  permit  the  bride  to  select  the  text.  The 
wedding-bans  in  New  England  were  published  three  times  in 
the  meeting-house.  This  might  be  at  any  of  the  meetings — 
Sunday  service,  lecture,  or  town  meeting.  The  names  of  the 
parties  and  their  intention  to  marry  were  read  by  the  min- 
ister, the  town  clerk,  or  the  deacon  at  any  of  the  meetings 
and  on  the  church  door  or  on  a  "publishing  post"  was  placed 
a  notice  containing  this  information.  In  New  York,  under 
the  English,  this  custom  was  considered  not  genteel  and  was 
very  little  practiced,  as  there  a  marriage  license  was  issued. 
In  Virginia  both  customs  were  in  practice,  as  a  license  was 
required  and  also  the  bans  had  to  be  published  for  three  sev- 
eral Sundays  in  the  parish  church  where  the  contracting 
parties  dwelt. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  colonists  in  New  England,  mar- 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  66. 


340  The  Historical  Child 

riage  was  considered  a  civil  contract  and  the  minister  was 
not  permitted  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony,  the  law 
requiring  that  all  marriages  should  be  conducted  by  a  civil 
magistrate.  But  even  as  it  was,  the  marriage  ceremony  was 
really  of  a  religious  nature  as  psalms  were  sung  by  the  guests 
and  prayers  offered.  Gradually  the  prejudice  against  eccle- 
siastical rites  passed  away  and  by  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  ministers  were  authorized  by  law  to  perform  the 
marriage  ceremony.  In  the  early  times  the  wedding  occurred 
in  the  home  and  was  quietly  conducted,  but  after  a  time  feast- 
ing was  added  to  the  singing  of  psalms  and  the  offering  of 
prayers.  In  Virginia  the  custom  was  just  the  opposite,  for 
civil  marriage  was  not  permitted  by  law,  the  ceremony  having 
to  be  of  a  religious  character  and  according  to  the  rites  of 
the  Church  of  England.  There  was  never  a  civil  marriage 
before  a  magistrate  permitted  by  law  till  near  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century  and  then  only  allowed  in  very  excep- 
tional cases. 

Among  the  Puritan  colonists  in  New  England  the  rude 
and  really  brutal  wedding  customs  of  the  old  country  were 
entirely  suppressed  or  greatly  modified.  Sack-posset  was 
drunk  at  weddings  and  although  this  might  have  occurred 
within  the  bridal  chamber,  yet  a  psalm  was  sung  before  par- 
taking and  the  drinking  was  followed  with  a  prayer,  which 
made  a  rather  solemn  affair  out  of  it.  There  must  have  been, 
though,  some  weddings  that  were  not  so  solemn,  as  in  1651 
a  law  was  passed  that  there  should  not  be  dancing  at  taverns 
at  the  time  of  a  wedding  on  account  of  abuses  and  disorders 
that  had  occurred  at  such  times.  Among  the  Germans  in 
Pennsylvania  at  a  wedding  the  guests  strove  to  steal  a  shoe 
off  the  bride's  foot  and  the  groomsmen  tried  to  prevent  this 
and  if  they  did  not  the  shoe  was  redeemed  with  a  bottle  of 
wine.  In  some  parts  the  guests  tried  to  obtain  a  garter  of 
the  bride  as  it  brought  luck  and  a  quick  marriage  to  the  one 
getting  it.  In  the  Connecticut  Valley  the  custom  prevailed 
of  stealing  the  bride.  This  was  done  by  a  group  of  young 
men,  usually  made  up  of  those  not  invited  to  the  wedding, 
who  would  rush  in  at  the  close  of  the  marriage  ceremony  and 
seize  the  bride  and  carry  her  off  to  the  tavern,  where  she  was 
redeemed  by  the  groom  and  his  friends  with  a  supper  to  the 
abductors.  In  some  places  it  was  the  custom  to  tie  wild 
grape-vines  across  the  path  of  a  wedding-party  or  to  fell 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  341 

trees  across  the  road  to  delay  them,  while  at  other  times  they 
would  be  greeted  bj^  a  sudden  volley  fired  from  ambush. 

"Isolated  communities  retained  for  many  years  marriage 
customs  derived  or  copied  from  similar  customs  in  the  'old 
country.'  Thus  the  settlers  of  Londonderry,  New  Hamp- 
shire— Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians — celebrated  a  marriage 
with  much  noisy  firing  of  guns,  just  as  their  ancestors  in 
Ireland,  when  the  Catholics  had  been  forbidden  the  use  of 
firearms,  had  ostentatiously  paraded  their  privileged  Protes- 
tant condition  by  firing  off  their  guns  and  muskets  at  every 
celebration.  A  Londonderry  wedding  made  a  big  noise  in 
the  world.  After  the  formal  publishing  of  the  bans,  guests 
were  invited  with  much  punctiliousness.  The  wedding  day 
was  suitably  welcomed  at  daybreak  by  a  discharge  of  mus- 
ketry at  both  the  bride's  and  the  groom's  house.  At  a  given 
hour  the  bridegroom,  accompanied  by  his  male  friends,  started 
for  the  bride's  home.  Salutes  were  fired  at  every  house 
passed  on  the  road,  and  from  each  house  pistols  and  guns 
gave  an  answering  'God  speed.'  Half  way  on  the  journey 
the  noisy  bridal  party  was  met  by  the  male  friends  of  the 
bride,  and  another  discharge  of  firearms  rent  the  air.  Each 
group  of  men  then  named  a  champion  to  '  run  for  the  bottle ! ' 
— a  direct  survival  of  the  ancient  wedding  sport  known  among 
the  Scotch  as  'running  for  the  bride-door,'  or  'riding  for 
the  kail'  or  'for  the  broose' — a  pot  of  spiced  broth.  The 
two  New  Hampshire  champions  ran  at  full  speed  or  rode  a 
dare-devil  race  over  dangerous  roads  to  the  bride 's  house,  the 
winner  seized  the  beribboned  bottle  of  rum  provided  for  the 
contest,  returned  to  the  advancing  bridal  group,  drank  the 
bride's  health,  and  passed  the  bottle.  On  reaching  the  bride's 
house  an  extra  salute  was  fired,  and  the  bridegroom  with  his 
party  entered  a  room  set  aside  for  them.  It  was  a  matter  of 
strict  etiquette  that  none  of  he  bride's  friends  should  enter 
this  room  until  the  bride,  led  by  the  best  man,  advanced  and 
stationed  herself  with  her  bridesmaid  before  the  minister, 
while  the  best  man  stood  behind  the  groom.  When  the  time 
arrived  for  the  marrying  pair  to  join  hands,  each  put  the 
right  hand  behind  the  back,  and  the  bridesmaid  and  the  best 
man  pulled  off  the  wedding-gloves,  taking  care  to  finish  their 
duty  at  precisely  the  same  moment.  At  the  end  of  the  cere- 
mony everj'one  kissed  the  bride,  and  more  noisy  firing  of  guns 
and  drinking  of  New  England  rum  ended  the  day."^" 

*>Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  74-75. 


342  The  Historical  Child 

One  peculiar  custom  was  that  of  the  "coming  out"  of  the 
bride.  On  the  Sunday  after  the  wedding,  the  bride  and 
groom  and,  sometimes,  also  the  other  members  of  the  bridal 
party,  would  attend  church  in  their  wedding  clothes.  It  was 
a  common  and  an  expected  thing  for  the  bridal  couple  to 
occupy  some  conspicuous  place  and  in  the  midst  of  the  ser- 
mon stand  and  slowly  turn  about  to  show  their  clothing.  The 
peeking  of  the  congregation  can  well  be  imagined  when  the 
groom  was  dressed  in  a  velvet  coat,  lace-frilied  shirt,  and 
white  broadcloth  knee-breeches  and  the  bride  in  a  gorgeous 
peach-colored  silk  gown  and  a  bonnet  with  sixteen  yards  of 
white  ribbon  on  it.  One  groom  was  not  content  with  show- 
ing off  on  one  Sunday  when  he  came  out  in  white  broadcloth 
for  the  next  Sunday  he  was  attired  in  brilliant  blue  and  gold 
and  the  third  Sunday  in  peach-bloom  with  pearl  buttons. 

An  engagement  of  marriage  was  a  very  important  matter 
and  when  once  properly  entered  into  it  could  not  be  lightly 
broken.  There  are  records  of  a  good  number  of  breach  of 
promise  suits  in  New  England  and  New  York.  Sometimes 
the  suit  was  brought  by  the  woman  or  her  father  against  the 
man;  sometimes,  too,  it  was  the  man  that  brought  the  suit 
against  the  woman.  Although  the  father  had  great  control 
over  his  daughter  in  reference  to  her  choice  of  a  husband, 
yet  if  he  permitted  a  contract  to  be  entered  into  with  his 
daughter  he  could  not  break  off  the  engagement  without  good 
reason,  such  as  a  court  would  accept.  There  are  a  number 
of  cases  on  record  where  the  young  man  brought  suit  against 
the  girl's  father  for  breach  of  contract,  sometimes  for  loss  of 
time  in  paying  court  to  the  daughter.  In  some  cases  the 
young  man  in  his  suit  included  both  the  father  and  the 
mother  and  also  the  girl,  claiming  that  all  joined  in  against 
him. 

Since  there  was  civil  marriage  in  New  England  it  would 
seem  naturally  to  follow  that  there  would  be  civil  divorce, 
which  was  the  case.  Not  only  were  church  courts  not  estab- 
lished in  New  England  but  also  there  were  none  in  any  of  the 
colonies.  As  in  Virginia  marriage  was  by  the  church  and  as 
there  were  no  church  courts,  there  were  no  statutes  on  divorce 
enacted  in  that  colon5^  There  were  separations,  though,  and 
the  courts  acted  upon  them  when  brought  before  them.  The 
causes  allowed  for  divorce  in  New  England  were  such  as 
desertion,  cruelty,  and  breach  of  the  marriage  vow.  Usually 
the  husband  and  wife  were  dealt  with  as  equals  before  the 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  343 

law.  "Female  adultery  was  never  doubted  to  have  been 
sufficient  cause;  but  male  adultery,  after  some  debate  and 
consultation  with  the  elders,  was  judged  not  sufficient.  "^^ 
This  has  reference  to  Massachusetts,  being  from  Governor 
Hutchinson. 

The  bearing  of  husband  and  wife  was  rather  carefully 
regulated  by  law  in  New  England.  A  husband  could  not 
keep  his  wife  on  frontiers  where  there  was  much  danger,  nor 
could  he  leave  her  for  any  long  while,  nor  could  he  whip  her, 
and  he  was  not  even  allowed  to  use  harsh  words  with  her.  A 
wife  must  not  scold  her  husband  too  much  nor  strike  him, 
lest  she  be  put  in  tlie  public  stocks  or  pillory.  Nor  could 
they  be  too  publicly  demonstrative.  "Captain  Kemble  of 
Boston  sat  two  hours  in  the  public  stocks  (1656)  for  his  'lewd 
and  unseemly  behavior'  in  kissing  his  wife  'publicquely'  on 
the  Sabbath  upon  his  doorstep  when  he  had  just  returned 
from  a  voyage  of  three  years. "  ^^  In  old  New  York  it  was 
the  custom  to  strive  to  reconcile  all  difficulties  and  even  in 
some  cases  it  seems  that  force  was  almost,  if  not  quite  used  to 
have  the  husband  and  wife  live  together.  In  no  case  was  the 
father  of  the  wife  to  permit  his  daughter  to  have  refuge  in 
his  home  against  the  wishes  of  her  husband. 

"In  spite  of  the  hardness  and  narrowness  of  their  daily 
life,  and  the  cold  calculation,  the  lack  of  sentiment  displayed 
in  wooing,  I  think  Puritan  husbands  and  wives  were  happy 
in  their  marriages,  though  their  love  was  shy,  almost  somber, 
and  'flowered  out  of  sight  like  the  fern.'  A  few  love-letters 
still  remain  to  prove  their  affection:  letters  of  sweethearts 
and  letters  of  married  lovers,  such  as  Governor  Winthrop  and 
his  wife  Margaret: 

'  *  *  My  own  dear  Husband  :  How  dearly  welcome  thy  kind 
letter  was  to  me,  I  am  not  able  to  express.  The  sweetness  of 
it  did  much  refresh  me.  "What  can  be  more  pleasing  to  a 
wife  than  to  hear  of  the  welfare  of  her  best  beloved  and  how 
he  is  pleased  with  her  poor  endeavors !  I  blush  to  hear  myself 
commended,  knowing  my  own  wants.  But  it  is  your  love  that 
conceives  the  best  and  makes  all  things  seem  better  than  they 
are.  I  wish  that  I  may  always  be  pleasing  to  thee,  and  that 
these  comforts  we  may  have  in  each  other  may  be  daily  in- 
creased so  far  as  they  be  pleasing  to  God.  I  will  use  that 
speech  to  thee  that  Abigail  did  to  David,  I  will  be  a  servant 

^  Howard,  History  of  matrimonial  institutions,  II,  331. 
**  Calhoun,  Social  history  of  the  American  family,  I,  92. 


344  The  Historical  Child 

to  wash  the  feet  of  my  lord ;  I  will  do  any  service  wherein  I 
may  please  my  good  husband.  I  confess  I  cannot  do  enough 
for  thee ;  but  thou  art  pleased  to  accept  the  will  for  the  deed 
and  rest  contented.  I  have  many  reasons  to  make  me  love 
thee,  whereof  I  shall  name  two :  First,  because  thou  lovest 
God,  and  secondly,  because  thou  lovest  me.  If  these  two 
were  wanting  all  the  rest  would  be  eclipsed.  But  I  must 
leave  this  discourse  and  go  about  my  household  affairs.  I 
am  a  bad  housewife  to  be  so  long  from  them;  but  I  must 
needs  borrow  a  little  time  to  talk  with  thee,  my  sweetheart. 
It  will  be  but  two  or  three  weeks  before  I  see  thee,  though 
they  be  long  ones.  God  will  bring  us  together  in  good  time, 
for  which  time  I  shall  pray.  And  thus  with  my  mother's  and 
my  own  best  love  to  yourself  I  shall  leave  scribbling.  Fare- 
well my  good  husband,  the  Lord  keep  thee. 
'Your  obedient  wife, 

'  Margaret  Wintheop.  *  "  ^^ 

In  the  good  old  colonial  daj^s  of  New  England  it  was  not 
only  a  man 's  duty  to  marry  but  also  a  necessity,  so  a  widower 
did  not  remain  single  as  a  usual  thing  nor  was  it  usual  to 
remain  in  that  condition  very  long,  as  for  instance,  "the 
father  and  mother  of  Governor  Winslow  had  been  widow  and 
widower  seven  and  twelve  weeks  respectively,  when  they 
joined  their  families  and  themselves  in  mutual  benefit,  if  not 
in  mutual  love.  x\t  a  later  day,  the  impatient  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire  married  a  lady  but  ten  days  a  widow. ' '  ^^* 
^' Peter  Sargent,  a  rich  Boston  merchant,  had  three  wives. 
His  second  had  had  two  previous  husbands.  His  third  wife 
had  lost  one  husband,  and  she  survived  Peter,  and  also  her 
third  husband,  who  had  three  wives.  His  father  had  four, 
the  last  three  of  whom  were  widows. ' '  ^^^ 

One  poor  widower  had  quite  a  time  after  his  wife's  death 
as  depicted  in  his  diary,  and  to  the  cares  and  troubles  of 
this  poor  old  man.  Judge  Sewall  of  Boston,  ]Mrs.  Earl  de- 
votes thirteen  pages  of  her  Customs  and  Fashions  in  Old  New 
England,  and  they  are  truly  most  unlucky  pages.  The  Judge 
lost  his  wife  on  October  19,  1717,  with  whom  he  had  lived 
forty-three  years  and  they  had  seven  sons  and  seven  daugh- 
ters, and  on  February  6th,  of  the  following  year  (he  was  66 

**Ear]e,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  79-80. 

"a /fey.,  36. 

*^  Calhoun,  Social  history  of  the  American  family,  I,  70. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  345 

at  the  time)  is  found  in  his  Diary:  "  'Wandering  in  my 
mind  whether  to  live  a  Married  or  a  Single  life/  Ere  that 
date  he  had  begun  to  take  notice.  He  had  called  more  than 
once  on  Widow  Ruggles,  and  had  had  Widow  Gill  to  dine 
with  him ;  and  looked  critically  at  Widow  Emery,  and  noted 
that  Widow  Tilley  was  absent  from  meeting;  and  he  had 
gazed  admiringly  at  Widow  Winthrop  in  '  her  sley. '  "  ^* 
Nor  were  the  good  old  Dutch  of  New  York  far  behind  their 
Yankee  neighbors  in  this  matter,  although  they  didn't  want 
to  allow  their  wives  the  same  privileges  without  encum- 
brances, as,  "John  Burroughs,  of  Newtown,  Long  Island,  in 
his  will  dated  1678  expressed  the  general  feeling  of  husbands 
towards  their  prospective  widows  when  he  said :  '  If  my  wife 
marry  again,  then  her  husband  must  provide  for  her  as  I 
have.'  "  "  In  1673  a  husband  in  making  a  joint-will  with  his 
wife  enjoined  loss  of  property  if  his  wife  married  again. 
"Perhaps  he  thought  there  had  been  enough  marrying  and 
giving  in  marriage  already  in  that  family,  for  Brieta  had 
had  three  husbands — a  Dane,  a  Frieslander,  and  a  German — 
and  his  first  wife  had  had  four,  and  he — well,  several,  I  guess ; 
and  you  couldn't  expect  any  poor  Dutchman  to  find  it  easy 
to  make  a  will  in  all  that  confusion."  ^^ 

' '  The  precocity  of  colonial  marriage  allowed  time  for  repe- 
titions of  the  act.  Many  of  the  Virginia  girls  that  married  in 
childhood  and  assumed  the  burdens  of  family  at  so  immature 
an  age  became  broken  in  health  and  after  bearing  a  dozen 
children  died,  leaving  their  husbands  to  marry  again  and 
beget  new  broods  perhaps  as  large  as  the  first.  On  the  east- 
ern shore  of  Virginia  in  the  seventeenth  century  it  was  not 
remarkable  for  a  man  to  have  three  or  four  successive 
wives.  There  were  instances  of  Virginians  married  six  times. 
It  is  not  unusual  to  find  a  colonial  dame  that  was  married 
four  times.  Few  conspicuous  colonial  men  in  Virginia,  at 
least,  lived  beyond  middle  life ;  most  died  short  of  it.  The 
malarial  climate,  exposure,  and  reckless  habits  cut  them  off. 
The  young  and  attractive  widows  need  not  remain  long  for- 
lorn in  a  country  with  a  preponderance  of  males,  at  least  if 
the  feminine  charms  were  supplemented  by  a  fine  plantation. 
Sometimes  the  relay  was  so  close  that  the  second  husband  was 
granted  the  probate  of  the  will  of  the  first.     In  one  case 

^  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  43. 
"Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  54. 
"Ibid.,  54. 


346  The  Historical  Child 

funeral  baked  meats  furnished  the  marriage  table.  One  hus- 
band left  all  the  estate  to  his  wife 's  children  by  her  next  mar- 
riage. Quickness  of  remarriage  does  not  indicate  callousness 
but  rather  the  woman's  need  of  protection  on  the  plantation 
and  of  an  overseer  for  the  work. 

' '  A  noticeable  feature  of  colonial  Virginia  was  the  belleship 
of  widows.  Maidens  seem  not  to  have  been  'in  it.'  As  we 
come  toward  the  Revolution  the  widows  still  reign  supreme. 
It  may  be  that  the  larger  social  experience  of  the  widows 
magnified  their  charms  or  made  them  more  adept  at  handling 
bashful  lovers.  Washington  belonged  in  this  class  if  v/e  may 
trust  the  sentimental  poems  that  he  wrote  to  the  unknown 
maiden  that  he  loved  when  he  was  fifteen.  After  several  un- 
successful affairs  he  probably  was  sufficiently  experienced 
not  to  dally  in  his  wooing  of  Mrs.  Custis.  Patrick  Henry's 
father  married  a  widow;  so  did  Jefferson  and  James  Mad- 
ison." ^^ 

In  New  Netherlands  there  prevailed  a  custom,  borrowed 
from  Holland,  that  when  a  man  died  and  left  a  number  of 
debts  the  widow  could  be  relieved  from  all  demands  or  claims 
of  his  creditors  by  giving  up  her  rights  of  inheritance.  In 
one  form  this  giving  up  of  rights  was  shown  by  the  widow's 
laying  a  key  and  a  purse  on  the  coffin  of  the  deceased  hus- 
band. There  was  another  peculiar  custom  in  both  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York  for  the  purpose  of  getting  out  of  paying 
debts.  In  this  the  widow  was  married  in  her  shift,  often  at 
cross-roads,  and  sometimes  at  midnight.  Later  the  custom 
was  for  the  widow  to  be  in  a  closet  with  no  clothing  on  and 
put  out  her  hand  through  a  hole  in  the  door  for  the  marriage 
ceremony.  Under  such  a  marriage  it  was  held  that  the  new 
husband  was  exempt  from  paying  the  debts  of  the  former 
husband  and  even  of  those  of  the  wife  contracted  before  her 
marriage  to  the  new  husband.  After  her  marriage,  whether 
on  road  or  in  closet,  the  new  bride  would  deck  herself  out  in 
clothing  furnished  by  the  new  husband,  usually  these  were 
with  her  in  the  closet,  and  then  she  would  come  forth  re- 
splendent and  unencumbered  to  her  new  man. 

As  in  all  new  countries,  in  the  early  times  of  the  United 
States,  women  were  fewer  than  men  and  very  few  women 
remained  unmarried.  Too,  it  was  quite  necessary  for  a 
woman  to  marry  as  she  needed  some  one  to  care  for  her  and 

"  Calhoun,  Social  history  of  the  American  family,  I,  247-248. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  347 

protect  her  more  than  would  be  the  case  in  an  old  and  well- 
settled  country.  Yet  there  were  some  few  women  who  pre- 
ferred maidenhood  to  marriage,  but  for  the  most  part  such 
women  had  a  hard  time,  for  they  were  not  well  considered  by 
the  colonists  as  they  believed  it  to  be  the  duty  for  every  man 
and  woman  to  marry.  At  least  one  such  woman  persevered 
in  this  state  for  quite  a  time  as  there  is  a  record  of  her  death 
in  her  91st  year. 

' '  The  state  of  old  maidism  was  reached  at  a  very  early  age 
in  those  early  days ;  Higginson  wrote  of  an  *  antient  maid '  of 
twenty-five  years.  John  Dunton  in  his  'Life  and  Errors' 
wrote  eulogistically  of  one  such  ideal  'Virgin'  who  attracted 
his  special  attention. 

"  'It  is  true  an  old  (or  superanuated)  Maid  in  Boston  is 
thought  such  a  curse,  as  nothing  can  exceed  it  (and  looked  on 
as  a  dis^nial  spectacle)  yet  she  by  her  good  nature,  gravity, 
and  strict  virtue  convinces  all  (so  much  as  the  fleering 
Beaus)  that  it  is  not  her  necessity  but  her  choice  that  keeps 
her  a  Virgin.  She  is  now  about  thirty  years  (the  age  which 
they  call  a  Thornhack)  yet  she  never  disguises  herself,  and 
talks  as  little  as  she  thinks,  of  Love.  She  never  reads  any 
Plays  or  Romances,  goes  to  no  Balls  or  Dancing-match  (as 
they  do  who  go  to  such  Fairs),  to  meet  with  Chapmen.  Her 
looks,  her  speech,  her  whole  behavior  are  so  very  chaste,  that 
but  once  (at  Governor's  Island,  where  we  went  to  be  merry 
at  roasting  a  hog)  going  to  kiss  her,  I  thought  she  would  have 
blushed  to  death. 

"  'Our  Damsel  knowing  this,  her  conversation  is  generally 
amongst  the  women  (as  there  is  least  danger  from  that  sex), 
so  that  I  found  it  no  easy  matter  to  enjoy  her  company,  for 
most  of  her  time  (save  what  was  taken  up  in  needle  work 
and  learning  French,  &c.)  was  spent  in  Religious  Worship. 
She  knew  time  was  a  dressing-room  for  Eternity,  and  there- 
fore reserves  most  of  her  hours  for  better  uses  than  those  of 
the  Comb,  the  Toilet  and  the  Glass. 

"  'And  as  I  am  sure  this  is  most  agreeable  to  the  Virgin 
modesty,  which  should  make  Marriage  an  act  rather  of  their 
obedience  than  their  choice.  And  they  that  think  their 
Friends  too  slowpaced  in  the  matter  give  certain  proof  that 
lust  is  their  sole  motive.  But  as  the  Damsel  I  have  been 
describing  would  neither  anticipate  nor  contradict  the  will 
of  her  Parents,  so  do  I  assure  you  she  is  against  Forcing  her 


348  The  Historical  Child 

own,  by  marrying  where  she  cannot  love;  and  that  is  the 
reason  she  is  still  a  Virgin.'  "  ^^ 

Even  if  the  Puritan  did  tolerate  the  unmarried  woman  he 
scarcely  did  the  unmarried  man,  for  it  was  considered  almost 
a  crime  for  a  man  to  remain  single.  They  went  so  far  that 
to  encourage  bachelors  to  marry  they  were  given  home  lots 
upon  which  to  build  if  they  married.  Whatever  the  cause, 
there  were  very  few  bachelors  among  them.  Bachelors  were 
treated  almost  as  criminals  as  they  were  spied  upon  by  the 
constable,  the  watchman,  and  the  tithing-man.  In  some  places 
they  had  to  pay  a  stipulated  sum  per  week,  or  other  time,  for 
the  privilege  of  remaining  single,  while  in  other  places  they 
were  not  permitted  to  live  alone.  An  order  issued  in  1695 
in  Eastham,  Mass.,  reads:  "Every  unmarried  man  in  the 
township  shall  kill  six  blackbirds  or  three  crows  while  he  re- 
mains single ;  as  a  penalty  for  not  doing  it,  shall  not  be  mar- 
ried until  he  obey  this  order. "  ^^  "  Bachelors  were  not  in 
good  standing  among  the  Dutch,  at  least  in  Albany.  The 
colony  had  no  laws,  as  in  New  England,  to  regulate  these 
misfits  and  they  shared  in  the  benefit  of  Dutch  tolerance  to- 
ward misguided  folk.  But  where  marriage  was  so  spon- 
taneous, bachelors  were  almost  pariahs.  They  did  manage  to 
find  shelter  but  not  home.  Mrs.  Grant  describes  them  as 
passing  in  and  out  like  silent  ghosts  and  seeming  to  feel  them- 
selves superior  to  the  world.  Their  association  was  almost 
exclusively  with  one  another  though  sometimes  one  took  part 
in  the  affairs  of  the  family  with  which  he  lived.  "^" 

Dress.  In  the  very  early  days  there  was  quite  a  difference 
of  feeling  in  reference  to  dress  among  the  various  colonies. 
In  Virginia  there  was  no  horror  of  fine  clothing  and  they 
dressed  as  far  as  they  could  as  in  the  home  country.  In  New 
England  and  Pennsylvania  this  was  different,  as  in  the  for- 
mer the  Puritans  were  much  against  fine  dress  and  in  the 
latter  the  Quakers  dressed  demurely.  In  New  York  saving 
was  such  a  grace  with  the  Dutch  that  the  clothing  was  quite 
durable,  whatever  the  style.  Yet  even  among  the  early  col- 
onists there  was  a  disposition  to  dress  according  to  rank  and 
hence  finery  was  not  altogether  excluded  from  any  of  the 
colonies.  This  is  shown  in  the  laws,  as,  in  Virginia  in  1623 
only  those  of  the  governor's  council  were  allowed  to  wear 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  38-39, 

^Ubid.,  37. 

•"Calhoun,  Social  history  of  the  American  family,  I,  165. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  349 

silk,  and,  in  1651  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  set 
forth  its  * '  utter  detestation  and  dislike  that  men  or  women  of 
meane  condition,  educations  and  callinges  should  take  uppon 
them  the  garbe  of  gentlemen,  by  the  wearinge  of  gold  or  silver 
lace,  or  buttons,  or  poynts  at  theire  knees,  to  walke  in  greate 
boots,  or  women  of  the  same  ranke  to  weare  silke  or  tiffany 
hoodes  or  scarfes.  "^^ 

As  the  colonies  grew  and  wealth  increased,  display  in  dress 
grew  and  continued  up  through  the  seventeenth  and  eigh- 
teenth centuries.  There  was  a  constant  succession  of  rich 
and  gay  fashions  patterned  after  those  of  Europe.  This  was 
not  only  true  of  women's  clothing  but  of  men's  as  well.  There 
were  importations  from  Europe,  among  which  were  gauzes, 
silks,  laces,  velvets,  and  fine  cloths  of  bright  colors.  Too, 
when  trade  widened,  goods  were  brought  from  China  and  the 
East  Indies.  Although  the  colonists  might  wear  rich  cloth- 
ing they  were  not  wasteful,  for  the  gowns  and  ribbons  were 
turned  and  dyed  and  well  cared  for,  and  much  of  the  cloth- 
ing was  passed  on  to  other  generations.  This  passion  for 
dress  was  not  even  stopped  by  the  Revolutionary  War  as  is 
shown  from  a  letter  by  a  Hessian  officer  of  that  time : 

"They  are  great  admirers  of  cleanliness  and  keep  them- 
selves well  shod.  They  friz  their  hair  every  day  and  gather 
it  up  on  the  back  of  the  head  into  a  chignon  at  the  same 
time  puffing  it  up  in  front.  They  generally  walk  about  with 
their  heads  uncovered  and  sometimes  but  not  often  wear  some 
light  fabric  on  their  hair.  Now  and  then  some  country 
nymph  has  her  hair  flowing  down  behind  her,  braiding  it 
with  a  piece  of  ribbon.  Should  they  go  out  even  though  they 
be  living  in  a  hut,  they  throw  a  silk  wrap  about  themselves, 
and  put  on  gloves.  They  also  put  on  some  well  made  and 
stylish  little  sunbonnet,  from  beneath  which  their  roguish 
eyes  have  a  most  fascinating  way  of  meeting  yours.  In  the 
English  colonies  the  beauties  have  fallen  in  love  with  red 
silk  or  woolen  wraps.  The  wives  and  daughters  spend  more 
than  their  incomes  allow.  The  man  must  fish  up  the  last 
penny  he  has  in  his  pocket.  The  funniest  part  of  it  is  the 
women  do  not  seem  to  steal  it  from  them,  neither  do  they 
obtain  it  by  cajoling,  fighting,  or  falling  in  a  faint.  How 
they  obtain  it  is  a  mystery,  but  that  the  men  are  heavily 
taxed  for  their  extravagance  is  certain.  The  daughters  keep 
up   their  stylish  dressing   because  their  mothers   desire   it. 

"Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home.     Century  magazine,  VII,  887. 


350  The  Historical  Child 

Nearly  all  articles  necessary  for  the  adornment  of  the  female 
sex  are  very  scarce  and  dear.  For  this  reason  they  are  wear- 
ing their  Sunday  finery.  Should  this  begin  to  show  signs  of 
wear  I  am  afraid  that  the  husbands  and  fathers  will  be  com- 
pelled to  make  peace  with  the  Crown  if  they  would  keep  their 
women  folk  supplied  with  gewgaws. ' '  ^- 

This  growth  in  the  richress  of  apparel  did  not  escape  the 
eyes  of  the  lawmakers,  for  sumptuary  laws  were  passed  in 
order  to  restrain  and  even  prohibit  luxury  and  extravagance 
in  dress,  but  needless  to  say  all  such  laws  failed  in  the  end. 
In  1634  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  gave  out  the 
order : 

"That  no  person  either  man  or  woman  shall  hereafter 
make  or  buy  any  apparel,  either  woolen  or  silk  or  linen  with 
any  lace  on  it,  silver,  gold,  or  thread,  under  the  penalty  of 
forfeiture  of  said  clothes.  Also  that  no  person  either  man  or 
woman  shall  make  or  buy  any  slashed  clothes  other  than  one 
slash  in  each  sleeve  and  another  in  the  back;  also  all  cut- 
works,  embroideries,  or  needlework  cap,  bands,  and  rails  are 
forbidden  hereafter  to  be  made  and  worn  under  the  aforesaid 
penalty ;  also  all  gold  or  silver  girdles,  hatbands,  belts,  ruffs, 
beaverhats  are  prohibited  to  be  bought  and  worn  here- 
after. "^^ 

"In  1639  'immoderate  great  breeches,  knots  of  ryban, 
broad  shoulder  bands  and  rayles,  silk  ruses,  double  ruffles 
and  capes'  were  added  to  the  list  of  tabooed  garments."  ^^^  In 
1651  came  the  utterance  of  the  Court  as  given  before. 

Nor  were  these  idle  laws,  for  many  people  were  tried  and 
punished.  In  Northampton  in  1676  there  were  thirty-eight 
women  brought  up  at  one  time  before  the  court  for  their 
"wicked  apparell. "  Not  only  did  the  courts  and  lawmakers 
try  to  stop  the  increase  for  showy  clothing  but  also  the  min- 
isters took  up  the  refrain  and  preached  against  the  display 
of  finery. 

"After  a  while  the  whole  church  interfered.  In  1679  the 
church  at  Andover  put  it  to  vote  whether  'the  parish  Dis- 
approve of  the  female  sex  sitting  with  their  Hats  on  in  the 
Meeting-house  in  time  of  Divine  Service  as  being  Indecent.' 
In  the  town  of  Abington,  in  1775,  it  was  voted  that  it  was 
*an  indecent  way  that  the  female  sex  do  sit  with  their  hats 

"Earle,  Costume  of  colonial  times,  31-32. 

'^  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  316. 

'"^Ibid.,  316. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  351 

and  bonnets  on  to  worship  God. '  Still  another  town  voted  it 
was  the  'Town's  Mind'  that  the  women  should  take  their 
bonnets  off  in  meeting  and  hang  them  'on  the  peggs.'  We 
do  not  know  positively,  but  I  suspect  that  the  bonnets  con- 
tinued to  grace  the  heads  insteads  of  the  pegs  in  Andover, 
Abington,  and  other  towns. ' '  ^* 

In  the  early  times  in  New  England  the  men  wore  breeches 
of  leather  or  of  heavy  woolens  lined  with  leather  with  waist- 
coats, jackets,  and  doublets  of  leather,  being  plain  and  dur- 
able. But  even  at  that  early  time  there  were  scarlet  caps  and 
scarlet  coats.  In  the  country  the  clothing  of  the  men  was 
usually  plain  and  made  by  the  people  themselves,  the  cloth 
being  spun,  dyed,  and  woven  at  home.  Sometimes  trousers 
were  worn  instead  of  the  conventional  short-clothes  and  shoes 
and  hose  dispensed  with,  the  men  going  barefooted.  Among 
the  frontiersmen  there  were  suits  of  deer-skin  and  coats 
made  of  bear-skin  and  raccoon-skin. 

"The  frontiersmen  and  hunters  did  not  quite  escape  the 
prevailing  fondness  for  the  decorative  and  fanciful  in  dress. 
That  some  of  them  clubbed  and  some  of  them  queued  their 
hair,  I  have  already  remarked.  Their  'hunting-shirt,'  which 
served  for  vest  and  coat  also,  was  of  linsey-wolsey  or  buck- 
skin in  winter  and  of  tow-linen  in  the  summer.  It  had  many 
fringes  and  a  broad  belt  about  the  middle.  The  hunter  wore 
either  breeches  of  buckskin  or  thin  trousers;  over  these  he 
fastened  coarse  woolen  leggins  tied  with  garters  or  laced  well 
up  the  thigh,  as  a  defense  against  mud,  serpents,  insects,  and 
thorns.  He  wore  moccasins,  and  covered  his  head  with  a 
flapped  hat  of  a  reddish  hue,  or  a  cap.  The  sharp  tomahawk 
stuck  in  his  belt  served  for  a  weapon,  for  hatchet,  for  ham- 
mer, and  for  a  whole  kit  of  tools  besides.  The  shot-bag  and 
powder-horn  completed  his  outfit ;  the  powder-horn  was  his 
darling,  and  upon  it  he  lavished  all  the  resources  of  his  in- 
genuity, carving  it  with  whimsical  devices  of  many  sorts. 
And  there  was  probably  less  that  was  in  false  taste  in  the 
woodman's  outfit  than  in  any  costume  of  the  period. "^^ 

Whatever  way  the  New  England  Puritan  may  have  dressed 
himself  in  the  early  colonial  times,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
bedeck  himself  in  the  later  times.  "Picture  to  yourself  the 
garb  in  which  the  patriot  John  Hancock  appeared  one  noon- 
day in  1782 : 

**  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  286. 

"  Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home,  Century  magazine,  VII,  891. 


352  The  Historical  Child 

"  'He  wore  a  red  velvet  cap  within  which  was  one  of  fine 
linen,  the  last  turned  up  two  or  three  inches  over  the  lower 
edge  of  the  velvet.  He  also  wore  a  blue  damask  gown  lined 
with  velvet,  a  white  stock,  a  white  satin  embroidered  waist- 
coat, black  satin  small-clothes,  white  silk  stockings  and  red 
morocco  slippers.' 

"What  gay  peacock  was  this  strutting  all  point-device  in 
scarlet  slippers  and  satin  and  damask,  spreading  his  gaudy 
feathers  at  high  noon  in  sober  Boston  Streets ! — was  this  our 
boasted  Republican  simplicity?  And  what  'fop-tackle'  did 
the  dignified  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  wear  in  Boston 
at  that  date  ?  He  walked  home  from  the  bench  in  the  winter 
time  clad  in  a  magnificent  white  corduroy  surtout  lined  with 
fur,  with  his  judicial  hands  thrust  in  a  great  fur  muff. 

"Fancy  a  Boston  publisher  going  about  his  business  tricked 
up  in  this  dandified  dress — a  true  New  England  jessamy, 

"  'He  wore  a  pea-green  coat,  white  vest,  nankeen  small- 
clothes, white  silk  stockings  and  pumps  fastened  with  silver 
buckles  which  covered  at  least  half  the  foot  from  instep  to 
toe.  His  small-clothes  were  tied  at  the  knees  with  riband  of 
the  same  color  in  double  bows,  the  ends  reaching  down  to  the 
ancles.  His  hair  in  front  was  well  loaded  with  pomatum, 
frizzled  or  creped,  and  powdered;  the  ear  locks  had  under- 
gone the  same  process.  Behind  his  natural  hair  was  aug- 
mented by  the  addition  of  a  large  queue,  called  vulgarly  the 
false  tail,  which,  enrolled  in  some  yards  of  black  riband, 
hung  halfway  down  his  back,'  "  ^^ 

The  dress  of  the  women  among  the  colonists  is  shown  in 
such  lists  as  in  the  will  of  Jane  Humphrey,  who  died  in 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  in  1668: 

"Ye  Jump.  Best  Red  Kersey  Petticoate,  Sad  Grey  Ker- 
sey Wascote.  My  blemmish  Searge  Petticoate  &  my  best 
hatt.  My  white  Fustian  Wascote.  A  black  Silk  neck  cloath.  A 
handkerchiefe.  A  blew  Apron.  A  plain  black  Quoife  with- 
out any  lace.  A  white  Holland  Appron  with  a  small  lace  at 
the  bottom.  Red  Searge  petticoat  and  a  blackish  Searge  pet- 
ticoat. Greene  Searge  Wascote  &  my  hood  &  muffe.  My 
Green  Linsey  Woolsey  petticoate.  My  Whittle  that  is  fringed 
&  my  Jump  &  my  blew  Short  Coate.  A  handkerchief.  A 
blew  Apron.  My  best  Quife  with  a  Lace.  A  black  Stuffe 
Neck  Cloath.  A  White  Holland  apron  with  two  breadths  in 
it.    Six  yards  of  Redd  Cloth.    A  greene  Vnder  Coate.    Stan- 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  327. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  353 

ing  Kersey  Coate.  My  murry  Wascote.  My  Cloake  &  my 
blew  Wascote.  My  best  White  Apron,  my  best  Shifts.  One 
of  my  best  Neck  Cloaths,  &  one  of  my  plain  Quieus.  One 
Calico  Vnder  Neck  Cloath.  My  fine  thine  Neck  Cloath.  My 
next  best  Neck  Cloath.  A  square  Cloath  with  a  little  lace  on 
it.     My  greene  Apron.  "^^ 

"Vrouentje  Ides  Stoffelsen,  the  wife  of  a  respectable  and 
well-to-do  Dutch  settler  in  New  Netherlands,  left  behind  her 
in  IGil  a  gold  hoop  ring,  a  silver  medal  and  chain  and  a 
silver  undergirdle  to  hang  keys  on ;  a  damask  furred  jacket, 
two  black  camlet  jackets,  two  doublets — one  iron  gray,  the 
other  black;  a  blue,  a  steel-gray  lined  petticoat,  and  a  black 
coarse  camlet-lined  petticoat ;  two  black  skirts,  a  new  bodice, 
two  white  waistcoats,  one  of  Harlem  stuft*;  a  little  black  vest 
with  two  sleeves,  a  pair  of  damask  sleeves,  a  reddish  morning 
gown,  not  lined ;  four  pairs  pattens,  one  of  Spanish  leather ; 
a  purple  apron  and  four  blue  aprons ;  nineteen  cambric  caps 
and  four  linen  ones ;  a  fur  cap  trimmed  with  beaver ;  nine 
ilinen  handkerchiefs  trimmed  with  lace,  two  pair  of  old 
stockings,  and  three  shifts. ' '  ^® 

The  list  of  the  wardrobe  of  the  widow  of  Dr.  Jacob  De 
Lange,  of  New  York,  in  1682,  showed  the  following : 

"One  under  petticoat  with  a  body  of  red  bay;  one  under 
petticoat,  scarlet ;  one  petticoat,  red  cloth  with  black  lace ; 
one  striped  stuff  petticoat  with  Ijlack  lace ;  two  colored  drug- 
get petticoats  with  gray  linings;  two  colored  drugget  pet- 
ticoats with  white  linings ;  one  colored  drugget  petticoat  with 
pointed  lace;  one  black  silk  petticoat  with  ash  gray  silk 
lining;  one  potto- foo  silk  petticoat  with  black  silk  lining;  one 
potto-foo  silk  petticoat  with  taffeta  lining;  one  silk  potoso- 
a-samare  with  lace ;  one  tartanel  samare  with  tucker ;  one 
black  silk  crape  samare  with  tucker;  three  flowered  calico 
samares ;  three  calico  nightgowns,  one  flowered,  two  red ;  one 
silk  waistcoat,  one  calico  waistcoat ;  one  pair  of  bodice ;  five 
pair  white  cotton  stockings ;  three  black  love-hoods ;  one  white 
love-hood ;  two  pair  sleeves  with  great  lace ;  four  cornet  caps 
with  lace ;  one  black  silk  rain  cloth  cap  ;  one  black  plush  mask ; 
four  yellow  lace  drowlas ;  one  embroidered  purse  with  silver 
bugle  and  chain  to  the  girdle  and  silver  hook  and  eye;  one 
pair  black  pendants,  gold  nocks ;  one  gold  boat,  wherein  thir- 
teen diamonds  &  one  white  coral  chain ;  one  pair  gold  stucks 

''Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  319, 
*'  Earle,  Costume  of  colonial  times,  28-29. 


354  The  Historical  Child 

or  pendants  each  with  ten  diamonds ;  two  diamond  rings ;  one 
gold  ring  v/ith  clasp  beck ;  one  gold  ring  or  hoop  bound  round 
with  diamonds."  ^^ 

There  was  no  ready-made  clothing  in  the  colonies  till  late, 
for  men  appearing  about  the  middle  oj  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury and  for  women  not  till  near  the  close  of  the  same  cen- 
tury. The  w'omen's  clothing  was  made  by  themselves  or  by 
dressmakers,  who  had  establishments  in  the  town  and  went 
from  home  to  home  in  the  country.  Sometimes  the  women 
would  send  to  the  home  country  for  garments,  which  w^ould  be 
passed  about  among  themselves  as  models.  A  rather  striking 
way  of  introducing  the  new  styles  was  by  importing  dolls 
fully  and  carefully  dressed  in  Europe  in  the  newest  fashions. 
The  notice  of  the  arrival  of  such  a  doll  is  found  in  an  adver- 
tisement in  the  i^'ew  England  Weekly  Journal  of  July  2,  1733. 

"  To  be  seen  at  Mrs.  Hannah  Teatts  Mantua  Maker  at  the 
Head  of  Summer  Street  Boston  a  Baby  drest  after  the  Newest 
Fashion  of  IMantues  and  Night  Gowns  &  everything  belonging 
to  a  dress.  Latilly  arrived  on  Capt.  "White  from  London,  any 
Ladies  that  desire  to  see  it  may  either  come  or  send,  she  will 
be  ready  to  wait  on  'em,  if  they  come  to  the  House  it  is  Five 
Shilling  &  if  she  waits  on  'em  it  is  Seven  Shilling. ' '  *° 

They  did  not  have  a  great  deal  of  jewelry.  Bracelets  and 
lockets  were  worn  by  a  few  of  the  women  and  some  of  the 
men  had  gold  and  silver  sleeve-buttons,  and  also  men  some- 
times wore  thumb-rings,  which  seems  in  keeping  with  their 
using  muffs.  Rings  were  common,  which  were  for  the  most 
part  mourning-rings,  as  these  were  given  to  all  the  chief 
mourners  at  funerals.  Silver  buckles  for  the  knees  and  ankles 
were  quite  common  among  the  men.  Paste  brilliants  were 
very  much  in  use,  being  worn  on  shoe  buckles  by  the  men, 
and  women  wore  paste  combs  and  paste  pins.  Watches  ap- 
peared in  England  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, but  it  was  quite  a  little  later  before  they  were  found 
among  the  colonists,  and  even  then  they  were  used  only  by 
the  wealthy.  Umbrellas,  made  of  oiled  linen,  came  into  use 
late  in  the  colonial  period,  but  before  that  the  ladies  had 
learned  to  protect  their  faces  from  the  sun  by  sun-fans  of 
green  paper,  and  green  masks  were  worn  while  riding.  In 
New  England  black  velvet  masks  were  used  as  a  shield  from 
the  cold,  being  held  in  place  by  means  of  a  silver  mouth- 

*'Earle,  Costume  of  colonial  times,  26-27. 

*"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  322. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  355 

piece.  Hoopskirts  came  into  fashion  and  they  became  quite 
big  affairs  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  To 
set  off  the  coats  and  breeches  of  gaudy  colors  the  men  wore 
shirts  with  highly  ruffled  bosoms.  The  stylish  shoes  of  the 
women  were  frail  affairs,  being  of  very  thin  material  and 
with  paper  soles  which  were  protected  by  overshoes  knoAvn 
as  goloe-shoes,  clogs,  pattens,  etc. 

In  the  colonies  the  customs  in  reference  to  the  wearing  of 
the  hair  prevailed  as  in  use  in  the  old  country,  the  Puritans 
in  New  England  keeping  their  hair  short,  as  did  their 
brethren  in  England,  and  so  nicknamed  Roundheads,  while 
in  Virginia  the  hair  was  worn  long,  as  was  the  custom  with 
the  Cavaliers  of  England.  As  hard  as  the  New  Englanders 
fought  against  long  hair,  going  as  far  as  to  offer  men  under 
sentence  release  from  punishment  if  they  would  cut  off  their 
long  hair,  the  Virginians  went  further  and  made  short  hair 
disgraceful  by  making  it  a  brand  and  a  mark  of  identification 
for  indentured  servants  when  caught  and  returned  to  their 
masters  after  running  away  before  their  time  of  service  had 
expired. 

But  Puritan  and  Cavalier  and  Quaker  all  succumbed  to 
the  wig.  The  rage  for  wearing  wigs  by  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth  century  seemed  to  have  possessed  the  colonists, 
as  wigs  were  worn  by  men  of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  by 
children,  servants,  prisoners,  and  even  sailors  and  soldiers. 
The  styles  varied  greatly,  sometimes  they  swelled  out  at  the 
side,  sometimes  they  hung  in  braids  or  in  curls  or  in  pig- 
tails, and  again  they  were  in  great  puffs  or  were  turned  under 
in  heavy  rolls.  They  were  made  of  human  hair,  horsehair, 
goat's-hair,  calves'  and  cows'  tails,  thread,  silk,  and  mohair. 
Some  of  them  were  quite  costly,  even  as  much  as  the  equal 
of  a  hundred  dollars  today.  There  were  a  great  variety  of 
styles  of  wigs,  known  as  the  tie,  the  brigadier,  the  spencer, 
the  major,  the  albemarle,  the  ramillies,  the  grave  full-l3ottom, 
the  giddy  feather-top,  the  campaign,  the  neck-lock,  the  bob, 
the  lavant,  the  valiancy,  the  drop-wig,  the  buckle-wig,  the 
bag-wig,  the  Grecian  fly,  the  peruke,  the  beau-peruke,  the 
long-tail,  the  bob-tail,  the  fox-tail,  the  cut-wig,  the  tuck-wig, 
the  twist-wig,  the  scratch.*^ 

"Soon  after  1750,  perhaps,  the  decline  of  the  wig  set  in; 
but  the  exuberant  fancy  of  the  age  still  made  the  heads  of 
gentlemen  to  blossom.     The  wig-maker's  tortures  fell  upon 

^'Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  300. 


356  The  Historical  Child 

the  natural  hair:  it  was  curled,  frizzled,  and  powdered;  it 
was  queued  or  clubbed.  The  man  of  dignity,  even  the  fash- 
ionable clergyman,  sat  long  beneath  the  hands  of  the  barber 
every  day  of  his  life.  Side-locks  and  dainty  little  toupees 
were  cultivated.  The  'maccaroni' — type  and  pink  of  the 
most  debauched  English  dandyism — made  his  appearance  in 
1774  in  the  fashionable  assemblies  of  Charleston,  and  even  in 
Charleston  there  were  two  varieties  of  these  creatures:  the 
one  wore  the  hair  clubbed,  the  other  preferred  the  dangling 
queue.  The  rage  for  growing  the  longest  possible  switch  of 
hair  infected  the  lower  classes ;  sailors  and  boatmen  wrapped 
in  eel-skin  their  cherished  locks,  and  the  back-countryman  in 
some  places  was  accustomed  to  preserve  his  from  injury  by 
enveloping  it  in  a  piece  of  bear's-gut  dyed  red,  or  clubbing 
it  in  a  buckskin  bag. ' '  *^ 

The  women  of  the  colonies,  like  the  men,  tried  to  keep  up 
with  the  fashions  of  Europe.  The  manner  in  which  they  wore 
their  hair  brought  upon  them  the  wrath  of  the  parsons,  one 
of  whom.  Increase  Mather,  even  included  a  notice  of  such 
in  his  great  sermon  upon  the  comet  in  1683:  "Will  not  the 
haughty  daughters  of  Zion  refrain  their  pride  in  apparell? 
"Will  they  lay  out  their  hair,  and  wear  false  locks,  their 
borders,  and  towei-s  like  comets  about  their  heads?"  *^  These 
towers  grew  out  of  style,  but  they  came  back  again  near  a 
century  later,  in  Revolutionary  times.  At  this  later  time  the 
front  hair  was  drawn  up  over  a  roll  or  cushion  and  stiffened 
with  powder  and  grease  and  then  the  back  hair  was  drawn 
up  in  a  similar  way.  The  pile  was  then  built  up  with  rib- 
bons, pompons,  aigrettes,  jewels,  gauze,  flowers,  and  feathers 
till  it  arose  near  a  half  yard  in  height.  This  process  took  a 
long  time,  as  is  told  in  1771  by  a  bright  little  Boston  school 
girl,  eleven  years  of  age,  who  saw  a  hairdresser  at  his  work. 
"IIow  long  she  was  at  his  opperation,  I  know  not.  I  saw 
him  twist  &  tug  &  pick  &  cut  off  whole  locks  of  grey  hair  at  a 
slice  (the  lady  telling  him  she  would  have  no  hair  to  dress 
next  time)  for  the  space  of  a  hour  &  a  half,  when  I  left 
them,  he  seeming  not  to  be  near  done."**  "One  may  judge 
of  the  vital  necessity  there  was  for  all  this  art  from  the  fact 
that  a  certain  lady  in  Annapolis  about  the  close  of  the 
colonial  period  was  accustomed  to  pay  six  hundred  dollars 

*'Egg]eston,  The  colonists  at  liome,  Century  magazine,  VII,  888. 
*^  Larle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  290. 
**  Earle,  Diary  of  Anna  Green  Winslow,  19. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  357 

a  year  for  the  dressing  of  her  hair.  On  great  occasions  the 
hairdresser's  time  was  so  fully  occupied  that  some  ladies 
were  obliged  to  have  their  mountainous  coiffures  built  up  two 
days  beforehand,  and  to  sleep  sitting  in  their  chairs,  or,  ac- 
cording to  a  Philadelphia  tradition,  with  their  heads  inclosed 
in  a  box. "  ^^ 

The  contents  of  such  a  tower  is  shown  in  a  description  of 
an  accident  to  a  young  woman  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  as 
found  in  the  Boston  Gazette  of  1771.  "In  an  infaust  mo- 
ment she  was  thrown  down  by  a  runaway,  and  her  tower 
received  serious  damage.  It  burst  its  thin  outer  wall  of 
natural  hair,  and  disgorged  cotton  and  wool  and  tow  stuffing, 
false  hair,  loops  of  ribbon  and  gauze.  Ill-bred  boys  kicked 
off  portions  of  the  various  excresences,  and  the  tower-wearer 
was  jeered  at  until  she  was  glad  to  escape  with  her  own  few 
natural  locks. ' '  ** 

These  dressings  of  the  hair  called  for  material  to  use  and 
they  had  powdering  puffs  and  powdering  bags  and  powder- 
ing machines  and  several  varieties  of  powder  to  use  in  them, 
such  as  brown,  marechal,  scented,  plain,  and  blue.  Pomatums 
came  into  use,  one  of  which  in  a  book  dated  1706  is  sho^vn 
to  be  made  thus:  "The  Dutch  way  to  make  Orange-butter. 
Take  new  cream  two  gallons,  beat  it  up  to  a  thicknesse,  then 
add  half  a  pint  of  orange-flower-water,  and  as  much  red 
wine,  and  so  being  become  the  thicknesse  of  butter  it  has 
both  the  colour  and  smell  of  an  orange."  *^  There  were  hair- 
restorters  and  hair-dyes,  all  promising  much  to  those  using 
them  correctly  and  carefully,  one  such  formula  coming  down 
to  us  from  1685 :  "  A  ]\Ietson  to  make  a  mans  heare  groe  when 
he  is  bald.  Take  sume  fier  flies  &  sum  Redd  wormes  &  black 
snayls  and  sum  hume  bees  and  dri  them  and  pound  them  & 
mixt  them  in  milk  or  water."  *® 

In  early  colonial  times  not  much  attention  was  given  to 
the  teeth.  The  following  is  in  line  with  their  knowledge  and 
care  of  the  teeth.  "If  you  will  keep  your  teeth  from  rot, 
plug,  or  aking,  wash  the  mouth  continually  with  Juyce  of 
Lemons,  and  afterwards  rub  your  teeth  with  a  Sage  Leaf 
and  Wash  your  teeth  after  meat  with  faire  water.  To  cure 
Tooth  Ach.   1.  Take  Mastick  and  chew  it  in  your  mouth  until 

*'  Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home,  Century  magazine,  VII,  889. 

*•  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  294. 

*'  Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  182. 

*•  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  296. 


358  The  Historical  Child 

it  is  as  soft  as  wax,  tlien  stop  your  teeth  with  it,  if  hollow, 
there  remaining  till  it's  consumed,  and  it  wil  certainly  cure 
you.  2.  The  tooth  of  a  dead  man  carried  about  a  man  pres- 
ently suppresses  the  pains  of  the  Teeth.  "^^  The  tooth  pow- 
ders were  such  as  to  be  quite  injurious  to  the  teeth.  One 
such  had  in  its  combination  cuttle-bone,  brick-dust,  and 
pumice-stone.  Another  was  to  contain  coral  reduced  to  a 
powder,  and  if  no  coral  was  to  be  had,  then  coarse  earthen- 
ware might  be  broken  up  and  powdered  for  use.  Their  in- 
struments for  pulling  teeth  were  crude  and  caused  the  great- 
est of  pain,  often  breaking  the  jaw.  The  artificial  teeth  of 
that  time  may  have  helped  the  looks,  but  they  were  of  very 
little  value  in  eating,  if  any  at  all.  There  was  used  an  in- 
grafting process  wherein  sound  teeth  were  extracted  from  one 
person  and  inserted  in  another  person's  mouth.  "I  cannot 
find  any  notice  of  the  sale  of  'teeth  brushes'  till  nearly 
Revolutionary  times.  Perhaps  the  colonists  used,  as  in  old 
England,  little  brushes  made  of  'dentissick  root'  or  mallow, 
chewed  into  a  fibrous  swab."^° 

After  the  first  years  of  hardships,  and  wealth  began  tO' 
come  to  the  colonists,  there  not  only  arose  among  the  women 
the  desire  for  fine  dress,  but  also  a  love  of  cosmetics.  As 
early  as  1686  it  was  said  of  a  woman  of  Boston,  "to  hide 
her  age  she  paints,  and  to  hide  her  painting  dares  hardly 
laugh."  One  of  the  ministers  of  New  England  about  that 
same  time  stated  to  his  congregation:  "At  the  resurrection 
of  the  Just  there  will  no  such  sight  be  met  as  the  Angels 
carrying  Painted  Ladies  in  their  arms."  In  the  newspapers 
are  advertisements  of  washes  for  the  skin,  face  powders,  face 
paints,  compositions  to  take  off  "Superficious  Hair,"  face 
patches,  and  the  like.  One  of  the  leading  cosmetics  was  the 
wash-ball,  a  substitute  for  soap.  They  loved  perfumes  and 
not  only  used  them  about  their  persons,  but  also  to  scent 
their  linen  chests,  closets,  and  rooms. 

"AVith  regard  to  the  bathing  habits  of  our  ancestors  but 
little  can  be  said,  and  but  little  had  best  be  said.  Charles 
Francis  Adams  writes,  with  witty  plainness,  'If  among  per- 
sonal virtues  cleanliness  be  indeed  that  which  ranks  next  to 
godliness,  then  judged  by  the  nineteenth  century  standards, 
it  is  v;ell  if  those  v/ho  lived  in  the  eighteenth  century  had  a 

*'Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  302. 
'"'lUd.,  304. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  359 

sufficiency  of  the  latter  quality  to  make  good  what  they  lacked 
of  the  former.'  He  says  there  was  not  a  bathroom  in  the 
town  of  Quincy  prior  to  the  year  1820.  And  of  what  use 
would  pitchers  or  tubs  of  water  have  been  in  bedrooms 
in  the  winter  time,  when,  if  exposed  over  night,  solid  ice 
would  be  found  therein  in  the  morning?  The  washing  of 
linen  in  New  England  homes  was  done  monthly ;  it  is  to  be 
hoped  the  personal  baths  were  more  frequent,  even  under 
the  apparent  difficulties  of  accomplishment.  I  must  state, 
in  truth,  though  with  deep  mortification,  that  I  cannot  find 
in  inventories  even  of  Eevolutionary  times  the  slightest  sign 
of  the  presence  of  balneary  appurtenances  in  bedrooms;  not 
even  of  ewers,  lavers,  and  basins,  nor  of  pails  and  tubs.  As 
petty  pieces  of  furniture,  such  as  stools,  besoms,  framed 
pictures,  and  looking-glasses  are  enumerated,  this  conspicu- 
ous absence  of  what  we  deem  an  absolute  necessity  for  de- 
cency speaks  with  a  persistent  and  exceedingly  disagreeable 
voice  of  the  unwashed  condition  of  our  ancstors,  a  condition 
all  the  more  mortifying  when  we  consider  their  exceeding 
external  elegance  in  dress.  This  total  absence  of  toilet  ap- 
pliances does  not,  of  course,  render  impossible  a  special  lava- 
tory or  bathroom  in  the  house,  or  the  daily  importation  to 
the  bedrooms  of  hot-water  cans,  twiggen  bottles,  bathtubs, 
and  basins  from  other  portions  of  the  house;  but  even  that 
equipment  would  show  a  lack  of  adequate  bathing  facilities. 
Nor  do  the  tiny  toilet  jugs  and  basins  of  Staffordshire  ware 
that  date  from  the  first  part  of  this  century  point  to  any  very 
elaborate  ablutions."  ^^ 

Infants'  Clothing.  Some  articles  of  clothing  of  infants  of 
colonial  times  have  been  preserved.  These  are  not  the  com- 
mon every-day  dress,  as  they  were  worn  out  or  not  thought 
nice  enough  to  lay  away,  but  these  remaining  are  the  finer 
sort  such  as  their  christening  robes  and  their  finer  shirts, 
caps,  and  petticoats,  such  as  would  not  be  worn  very  much 
and  kept  put  away  till  baby  outgrew  them  and  they  were  so 
pretty  that  they  were  still  preserved  and  have  come  down  to 
us  to  show  us  what  beautiful  apparel  our  baby  forefathers 
wore. 

All  the  undergarments  of  the  colonial  baby  were  made  of 
linen — little  low-necked  shirts  with  short  sleeves,  made  of 
thin,   fine  linen.     The  little  hands  were   enclosed  in  linen 

"Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  308-309. 


360  The  Historical  Child 

mitts,  one  pair,  though,  that  comes  down  to  us  were  made 
of  fine  lace  and  there  were  some  or  silk,  and  some  even  of 
stiff  yellow  nankeen.  The  baby-dresses  are  little,  straight- 
laced  gowns  for  display,  or,  rather  shapeless  large-necked 
sacks  and  drawn  into  shape  at  the  neck  with  narrow  cotton 
ferret  or  linen  bobbin.  The  poor  little  head  was  covered 
summer  and  winter  with  a  cap,  which  must  have  been  quite 
warm  in  summer  as  they  were  often  warmly  padded.  Mrs. 
Earle  states  that  she  had  never  seen  a  woolen  petticoat  which 
was  worn  by  an  infant  of  pre-Revolutionary  days.  But  there 
were  infants'  cloaks  of  wool.  There  were  also  beautifully 
embroidered  long  cloaks  of  chamois  skin.  The  baby  was  kept 
warm  by  little  shawls  placed  around  the  shoulders  and  the 
body  was  enveloped  in  quilts  and  shawls,  which  also  included 
the  head  and  shoulders. 

Boys'  Clothing.  In  the  early  colonial  times  as  soon  as  the 
boys  became  old  enough  to  get  about,  they  were  dressed  like 
their  fathers.  In  Massachusetts  the  boys'  clothing  consisted  of 
doublets,  which  were  warm  double  jackets,  leather  knee- 
breeches,  leather  belts,  knit  caps,  while  in  Virginia,  because 
of  the  warmer  climate,  their  clothing  was  of  lighter  material. 
Sometimes  the  boys  had  deerskin  breeches. 

When  cotton  goods  became  to  be  imported  from  Oriental 
countries,  about  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
clothing  of  children,  as  well  as  of  grown-folks,  were  made 
of  it.  This  became  so  important  in  dress  that  it  was  worn  in 
winter  as  well  as  in  summer.  We  find  that  boys  wore  nan- 
keen suits  the  entire  year  and  that  jackets  and  trousers  for  the 
boys  were  made  of  calico  and  chintz.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  be- 
lieve that  boys  in  New  England  ever  wore  nankeen  suits  in 
winter  and  even  calico  pants  in  snow  time. 

"There  is  an  excellent  list  of  the  clothing  of  a  New  York 
schoolboy  of  eleven  years  given  in  a  letter  written  by  Fitz- 
John  Winthrop  to  Robert  Livingstone  in  1690.  This  young 
lad,  John  Livingstone,  had  also  been  in  school  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  'account  of  linen  &  clothes'  shows  him  to  have  been 
well  dressed.    It  reads  thus: 


"Eleven  new  shirts. 

3  pr  silver  buttons. 

4  pr  laced  sieves. 

2  pr  fine  blew  stockings. 

8  plane  cravets. 

1  pr  fine  red  stockings. 

4  cravets  with  lace 

4  white  handkerchiefs. 

4  stripte    wastecoats    with    black 

2  speckled  handkerchiefs. 

buttons. 

3  pair  gloves. 

1  flowered  waistecoat. 

1  stuff  coat  with  black  buttons. 

The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  361 

4  new  osinbrig'  britches.  1  cloth  coat. 

1  gray  hat  with  a  black  ribbon  1  pr  blew  plush  britches. 

1  gray  hat  with  a  blew  ribbon.  1  pr  serge  britches. 

1  dousin   black   buttons.  2  combs, 

1  dousin    coloured    buttons.  1  pr  new  shoes, 

3  pr  gold  buttons. 

Silk  &  thred  to  mend  his  clothes. ' ' " 

In  1759  George  Washington  ordered  from  England  for  his 
step-son — Master  Custis — six  years  of  age,  the  following : 

6  Pocket  Handkerchiefs,  small  and  fine. 

6  pairs  Gloves. 

2  Laced  Hats. 

2  Pieces  India  Nankeen. 

6  pairs  fine  Thread  Stockings. 

4     "     Coarse         "  " 

6      "     Worsted      "  '' 

4      "     Strong  Shoes. 

4      "      Pumps. 

1  Summer  suit  of  clothes  to  be  made  of  something  light  and  thin. 

1  piece  black  Hair  Ribbon, 

1  pair  handsome  Silver  Shoe  &  Knee  Buckles. 

1  light  duffel  Cloak  with  Silver  Frogs.^' 

Girls'  Clothing.  The  little  girl  of  the  early  settlers  must 
have  been  dressed  very  plainly,  as  was  her  mother.  As  the 
colonists  grew  wealthy  and  cities  arose,  the  little  girl's  dress 
grew  to  be  quite  elegant  and  stiff  and  formal  and  hampering, 
nearly  as  much  so  as  that  of  her  mother. 

In  1759,  in  the  same  list  mentioned  above  for  his  step-son, 
George  AVashington  ordered  from  England  for  his  step-daugh- 
ter— Miss  Custis — four  years  of  age,  as  follows: 

8  pairs  kid  mitts. 
4      ' '      gloves. 

2  "      silk  shoes. 

4      "      Calamanco   shoes, 

4      ' '      leather  pumps. 

6      ' '      fine   thread   stockings. 

4      "        "     worsted     " 

2  Caps. 

2  pairs  EuflSes. 

2  tuckers,  bibs,  and  aprons  if  Fashionable. 

2  Fans. 

2  Masks 

2  bonnets. 

^^Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  37. 
■^  Earle,  Costume  of  colonial  times,  13. 


362  The  Historical  Child 

1  Cloth  Cloak. 

1  Stiffened  Coat  of  Fashionable  silk  made  to  packthread  stays. 
6  yards  Eibbon. 

2  Necklaces. 

1  pair  Silver  Sleeve  Buttons  with  Stones. 
6  Pocket  Handkerchiefs.^^a 

"A  little  girl  four  years  of  age,  in  kid  mitts,  a  mask,  a  stif- 
fened coat,  with  pack-thread  stays,  a  tucker,  ruffles,  bib,  apron, 
necklace,  and  fan,  was  indeed  a  typical  example  of  the  fash- 
ionable follies  of  the  day. ' '  ^* 

The  school  girl  in  a  fashionable  boarding-school  dressed  ex- 
travagantly fine.  One  of  the  daughters,  twelve  years  of  age, 
of  General  Huntington  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  was  placed  in  a 
boarding-school  in  Boston.  She  had  twelve  silk  gowns  but 
her  teacher  wrote  that  the  girl  must  have  another  go^vn  of  a 
"recently  imported  rich  fabric,"  which  was  got  for  her  so 
that  she  might  dress  "suitable  to  her  rank  and  station." 

Another  Boston  school  girl,  twelve  yeare  of  age,  in  1772, 
describes  her  own  evening  dress  thus : 

"I  was  dress 'd  in  my  yellow  coat,  black  bib  &  apron,  black 
feathers  on  my  head,  my  past  comb,  &  all  my  past  garnet 
marquesett  &  jet  pinSj  together  with  m}'"  silver  plume — my 
loket,  black  mitts  &  2  or  3  yards  of  blue  ribbin,  (black  &  blue 
is  high  tast)  striped  tucker  and  rufiels  (not  my  best)  &  my 
silk  shoes  compleated  my  dress.  "''^ 

This  same  school  girl,  in  her  diary  four  months  later,  tells 
us  of  her  famous  headdress : 

"I  had  my  HEDDUS  roll  on,  aunt  Storer  said  it  ought  to 
be  made  less.  Aunt  Deming  said  it  ought  not  to  be  made  at 
all.  It  makes  my  head  itch,  &  ach,  &  burn  like  anything 
Mamma.  This  famous  roll  is  not  made  whally  of  a  red  Cow 
Tail,  but  is  a  mixture  of  that,  &  horsehair  (very  course)  &  a 
little  human  hair  of  yellow  hue,  that  I  suppose  was  taken  out 

of  the  back  part  of  an  old  wig.     But  D made  it   (our 

head)  all  carded  together  and  twisted  up.  When  it  first  came 
home,  aunt  put  it  on,  &  my  new  cap  on  it,  she  then  took  up 
her  apron  &  mesur'd  me,  &  from  the  roots  of  my  hair  on  my 
forehead  to  the  top  of  my  notions,  I  mesur'd  above  an  inch 
longer  than  I  did  downwards  from  the  roots  of  my  hair  to 
the  end  of  my  chin.    Nothing  renders  a  young  person  more 

"a  Earle,  Costume  of  colonial  times,  12. 

"7&id.,  13. 

*  Earle,  Diary  of  Anna  Green  Winslow,  17. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  363 

amiable  than  virtue  &  modesty  without  the  help  of  fals  hair, 
red  Cow  tail  or  D (the  barber)."  ^^ 

The  little  girl's  complexion  had  to  be  protected  by  a  mask 
of  cloth  or  velvet  from  the  healthy  coloring  of  tlie  sun.  "Little 
Dolly  Payne,  who  afterwards  became  the  wife  of  President 
Madison,  went  to  school  wearing  'a  white  linen  mask  to  keep 
every  ray  of  sunshine  from  the  complexion,  a  sunbonnet  sewed 
on  her  head  every  morning  by  her  careful  mother,  and  long 
gloves  covering  the  hands  and  arms.'  "" 

These  little  girls  wore  vast  hoop-petticoats.  They  wore 
high-heeled  shoes  made  of  silk,  morocco,  or  light  stuff.  They 
wore  stays  and  corsets,  and  even  the  poor  little  boys  had  to 
wear  them. 

"I  have  seen  children's  stays,  made  of  heavy  strips  of 
board  and  steel,  tightly  wrought  with  hea\'y  buckram  or  can- 
vas into  an  iron  frame  like  an  instrument  of  torture.  These 
had  been  worn  by  a  little  girl  five  years  old.  Staymakers 
advertised  stays,  jumps,  gazzets,  costrells,  and  caushets  (which 
were  doubtless  corsets)  for  ladies  and  children,  'to  make  them 
appear  strait.'  And  I  have  been  told  of  tin  corsets  for  little 
girls,  but  I  have  never  seen  any  such  abominations.  One  pair 
of  staj^s  was  labelled  as  having  been  worn  by  a  boy  when  five 
years  old.  There  certainly  is  a  suspicious  suggestion  in  some 
of  these  little  fellows'  portraits  of  whalebone  and  buck- 
ram." ^® 

"From  the  deacons'  records  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
at  Albany,  we  catch  occasional  hints  of  the  dress  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Dutch  colonists.  There  was  no  poorhouse,  and  few 
poor;  but  since  the  church  occasionally  helped  worthy  folk 
who  were  not  rich,  we  find  the  deacons  in  1665  and  1666  pay- 
ing for  blue  linen  for  schorteldoecykers,  or  aprons,  for  Albany 
kindeken;  also  for  haaken  en  oogen,  or  hooks  and  eyes,  for 
warm  under-waists  called  horsrockyen.  They  bought  linen 
for  luyers,  which  were  neither  pinning-blankets  nor  diapers, 
but  a  sort  of  swaddling  clothes,  which  evidently  were  worn 
then  by  Dutch  babies.  Voor-schooten,  which  were  white  bibs; 
neerstucken,  which  were  tuckers,  also  were  worn  by  little  chil- 
dren. Some  little  Hans  or  Pieter  had  given  to  him  by  the 
deacons  a  fine  little  scarlet  apero<:k,  or  monkey-jacket;  and 
other  children  were  furnished  linen  cosynties,  or  night-caps 

^'  Earle,  Diary  of  Anna  Green  Winslow,  71. 
•^  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  290. 
"  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  58. 


364  The  Historical  Child 

with  capes.  Yellow  stockings  were  sold  at  the  same  time  for 
children,  and  a  gay  little  yellow  turkey-legged  Dutchman  in 
a  scarlet  monkey-jacket  and  fat  little  breeches  must  have 
been  a  jolly  sight."  ^^ 

Food.  The  early  colonists  in  the  United  States  fared  poorly 
at  first  in  the  way  of  food  and  there  was  a  scarcity  of  food 
among  them  for  some  time.  Yet  there  was  an  abundance  of 
fish  and  oysters  and  clams  and  wild  nuts  and  berries  and  wild 
game.  After  they  had  learned  how  to  gather  these  in  and  also 
what  to  plant  and  how  to  plant  there  was  a  plenty  if  not 
abundance.  Not  having  a  great  number  of  cooking  utensils, 
they  learned  from  the  Indians  and  devised  ways  of  cooking 
without  utensils.  They  broiled  meats  and  fish  on  the  bare 
live  coals;  they  roasted  Irish  potatoes,  sweet  potatoes,  green 
corn,  and  squashes  by  burying  them  in  the  hot  ashes;  apples 
and  eggs  and  green  corn  were  baked  by  laying  them  on  the 
hearth  between  the  andirons;  they  would  bake  cakes  of  Indian 
corn  meal  and  of  buckwheat  and  rye  flour  before  the  fire  on  a 
flat  stone,  a  hoe,  an  oak  board,  or  a  pewter  plate.  The  breakfast 
was  usually  a  frugal  one,  consisting  of  a  porridge  of  peas  and 
beans,  with  a  savor  of  meat,  cheese,  maybe  beer  or  tea,  but 
often  milk  and  bread.  One  peculiar  custom  with  the  dinner, 
generally  served  exactly  at  noon,  was  that  usually  tliere  was 
a  pudding  and  which  was  eaten  first.  This  might  have  been 
an  Indian  pudding,  made  of  Indian  corn  meal  mixed  with 
dried  fruit.  Among  some  of  the  more  frugal  the  supper  was 
often  of  mush  and  milk.  In  some  parts  of  the  countrj^  at  least, 
it  was  a  custom  on  the  occasion  of  a  dinner  to  whirh  guests 
were  invited  to  send  to  those  who  could  not  be  present  a 
"taste"  of  the  different  dishes,  and  this  was  done  particularly 
to  sick  neighbors. 

Wheat  did  not  do  well  at  first  but  oats  grew  all  right  and 
quite  a  good  deal  was  raised,  so  that  oatmeal  was  used  and 
oatmeal  porridge  became  a  rather  popular  dish.  Indian  corn, 
maize,  was  the  staple  grain  of  the  colonists.  When  they  first 
came  to  America  they  found  this  grain  growing  and  they 
learned  from  the  Indians  how  to  plant  it,  raise  it,  grind  it, 
and  cook  it.  The  foods  made  from  this  corn  still  retain  their 
Indian  names,  as  samp,  supawn,  pone,  succotash,  hominy. 

Samp  was  the  corn  pounded  to  a  coarsely  ground  powder. 
Supawn  was  a  thick  corn-meal  and  milk  porridge.  Another 
way  of  preparing  the  com  by  the  Indians  was  called  nocdke 

"  Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  183-184. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  365 

or  nookick,  in  which  the  corn  was  parched  in  the  hot  ashes, 
then  taken  up  and  the  ashes  sifted  out,  and  then  beaten  into 
a  powder.  This  was  used  on  journeys,  being  put  into  a  pouch, 
and  it  was  quite  sustaining  as  a  small  amount  of  it  sufficed  for 
a  meal.  Johnny-cake  was  made  of  corn-meal  boiled  with 
water,  probably  the  same  as  our  mush  now.  They  also  roasted 
the  green  corn,  roasting-ears,  and  parched  the  dried  corn. 

A  corn-husking  of  1767  in  Massachusetts  is  thus  described 
in  a  diarj'  of  that  time.  "Made  a  husking  Entertainm't. 
Possibly  this  leafe  may  last  a  Century  and  fall  into  the  hands 
of  some  inquisitive  Person  for  whose  Entertainm't  I  will 
inform  him  that  now  there  is  a  Custom  amongst  us  of  making 
an  Entertainm't  at  husking  of  Indian  Corn  whereto  all  the 
neighboring  Swains  are  invited  and  after  the  Corn  is  flushed 
they  like  the  Hottentots  give  three  Cheers  or  huzza 's  but 
cannot  carry  in  the  husks  without  a  Rhum  bottle ;  they  feign 
great  Exertion  but  do  nothing  till  Rhum  enlivens  them,  when 
all  is  done  in  a  trice,  then  after  a  hasty  Meal  about  10  at 
Night  they  go  to  their  pastimes. ' '  ^° 

The  corn  was  shelled  by  hand  or  by  raking  the  ear  across 
the  edge  of  a  shovel  or  other  piece  of  sharp  iron  and  then 
ground  in  stone  mortars  with  pestles  or  in  wooden  mortars. 
Later  came  "querns,"  hand-mills,  which  from  the  descrip- 
tions, must  have  been  similar  to  the  ones  used  by  the  Scotch 
housewives  of  the  earlier  times,  as  described  in  another  place 
in  this  book.  Then  in  IMassachusetts  came  the  first  wind-mill 
in  1631  and  the  first  water-mill  in  1633. 

When  the  colonists  came  to  this  country,  they  found  the 
rivers  and  seas  abounding  with  fish.  It  is  stated  that  some 
of  the  rivers  were  so  full  of  fish  that  horses  ridden  into  them 
would  step  on  the  fish  and  kill  them.  The  Indians  killed  them 
in  the  brooks  by  striking  them  with  sticks  and  the  colonists 
scooped  them  out  alive  with  pans.  In  1614,  after  having  left 
Virginia,  John  Smith  went  to  New  England  for  whale  and 
he  found  cod  instead  and  in  one  month  he  caught  sixty  thou- 
sand of  the  cod.  Two  popular  fish  today,  the  shad  and  the 
salmon,  were  so  common  that  the  colonists  were  really  ashamed 
to  be  seen  eating  them  in  their  homes.  A  writer  in  1636  stated 
that,  "I  myself  at  the  turning  of  the  tyde  have  seen  such 
multitudes  of  sea  bass  that  it  seemed  to  me  that  one  might  goe 
over  their  backs  dri-shod."^^ 

°"  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  davs,  136. 
''Ibid.,  120. 


366  The  Historical  Child 

Not  only  were  there  great  numbers  of  fish,  but  also  a  great 
many  different  kinds,  one  writer  of  1672  told  of  over  two  hun- 
dred kinds  that  were  caught  in  the  waters  of  New  England. 
Not  only  was  there  great  quantity  and  great  variety  but  also 
great  size.  Writers  of  these  early  times  tell  of  lobsters  weigh- 
ing twenty-five  pounds  and  five  and  six  feet  long,  and  of 
oysters  that  were  a  foot  or  more  across. 

At  the  first  the  settlers  were  poorly  provided  with  fishing- 
tackle,  but  it  was  soon  brought  in  from  across  the  sea  and  a 
great  industry  arose.  Fishing-vessels  were  fitted  out  and  the 
product  sold  to  the  colonies  and  Europe.  "With  every  fish- 
ing-vessel that  left  Gloucester  and  Marblehead,  the  chief  cen- 
tres of  the  fishing  industries,  went  a  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  to 
learn  to  be  a  skilled  fisherman.  He  was  called  a  'cut-tail,'  for 
he  cut  a  wedge-shaped  bit  from  the  tail  of  every  fish  he  caught, 
and  when  the  fish  were  sorted  out  the  cut-tails  showed  the 
boy's  share  of  the  profit. "^^^ 

There  was  likewise  a  great  abundance  of  wild  game.  Deer 
were  found  everywhere.  They  were  at  first  without  fear  and 
came  in  droves  near  to  the  colonists.  But  this  was  not  for 
long  as  the  colonists  began  to  kill  them  in  great  numbers,  both 
for  the  food  and  for  the  hides.  Wild  turkeys  were  likewise 
plentiful  at  first  and  of  great  size,  as  they  weighed  thirty  and 
forty  and  even  sixty  pounds.  They  came  in  flocks  of  a  hun- 
dred or  more  and  were  destroyed  as  the  deer,  and  in  a  short 
time  they  had  disappeared  from  the  settled  parts,  by  1690 
rarely  found  near  the  coasts  of  New  England.  Wild  geese 
were  found  in  flocks  of  thousands.  Doves  were  very  plentiful. 
There  were  wild  pigeons  in  vast  quantities,  so  much  so  that  in 
their  flight  the  sun  would  be  obscured  and  the  sky  darkened 
for  some  length  of  time,  and  where  they  roosted  the  limbs 
were  broken  off  the  trees  and  sometimes  even  the  largest  limbs 
and  again  the  trees  might  be  almost  stripped  of  their  limbs 
by  the  weight  of  the  pigeons.  There  were  many  other  kinds 
of  game  birds,  as  the  pheasant,  quail,  woodcock,  plover,  snipe, 
curlew,  and  the  like.  Rabbits  and  squirrels  were  so  numerous 
as  to  be  a  very  great  pest  and  in  many  places  bounties  were 
paid  for  their  heads.  "Tlie  Swedish  traveler,  Kalm,  said  that 
in  Pennsylvania  in  one  year,  1749,  £8,000  was  paid  out  for 
heads  of  black  and  gray  squirrels,  at  three  pence  a  head, 

"aEarle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  122. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  367 

which  would  show  that  over  six  hundred  thousand  were 
killed.  "^- 

There  was  an  abundance  of  wild  nuts  which  could  be  gath- 
ered and  used,  such  as  walnuts,  hickory -nuts,  chestnuts,  hazel- 
nuts, and  the  like.  There  were  plenty  of  wild  berries,  as 
huckleberries,  blackberries,  and  strawberries,  and  likewise 
wild  grapes.  The  colonists  used  the  pawpaw  and  other  wild 
fruits  found  in  the  woods.  ' '  The  North  Carolinians  even  made 
puddings  and  what  they  called  tarts  of  the  American  paw- 
paw. "^^  They  planted  out  apple-trees  and  peach-trees  and 
other  kinds  of  fruit  trees  and  it  was  not  many  years  till  there 
was  plent3^  of  these  cultivated  fruits.  The  apples  were  es- 
pecially valuable  to  them  and  used  in  various  ways,  apple- 
sauce, and  apple-butter  were  made  in  great  quantity  by  each 
family.  ' '  They  made  preserves  and  conserves,  marmalets  and 
quiddonies,  hypocras  and  household  wines,  usquebarbs  and 
cordials.  They  candied  fruits  and  made  syrups.  They  pre- 
served everything  that  would  bear  preserving.  I  have  seen 
old-time  receipts  for  preserving  quinces,  'respasse,'  pippins, 
'apricocks,'  plums,  'damsins,'  peaches,  oranges,  lemons,  arti- 
chokes, green  walnuts,  elecampane  roots,  eringo  roots,  grapes, 
barberries,  cherries;  receipts  for  syrup  of  clove  gillyflower, 
wormwood,  mint,  aniseed,  clove,  elder,  lemons,  marigolds, 
citron,  hyssop,  liquorice ;  receipts  for  conserves  of  roses,  vio- 
lets, borage  flowers,  rosemary,  betony,  sage,  mint,  lavender, 
marjoram,  and  'piony;'  rules  for  candying  fruit,  berries,  and 
flowers,  for  poppy  water,  cordial,  cherry  water,  lemon  water, 
thyme  water,  Angelica  water,  Aqua  Mirabilis,  Aqua  Coelestis, 
clary  water,  mint  water. ' '  ^* 

The  natives  not  only  gave  to  the  colonists  the  valuable 
Indian  corn,  but  also  with  it  three  vegetables  that  are  yet  to 
this  day  raised  in  the  field  with  this  grain,  being  the  pumpkin, 
the  squash,  and  the  bean.  They  also  got  the  potato,  both  Irish 
and  sweet,  from  the  natives,  but  the  colonists  did  not  learn 
for  quite  a  time  how  to  prepare  the  Irish  potato  properly  and 
so  at  first  it  was  not  liked  and  not  greatly  used.  They  sup- 
plemented the  native  list  of  vegetables  with  those  grovrn  in 
Europe,  and  so  it  was  not  long  till  they  had  growing  peas  and 
turnips  and  parsnips  and  carrots  and  cucumbers  and  many 
others. 

•"Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  clays,  ilO. 

"*  Egglcston,  The  colonists  at  home.  Century  magazine,  VII,  883. 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  155. 


368  The  Historical  Child 

Another  product  whicli  they  obtained  from  the  natives, 
although  not  food,  almost  seemed  to  take  its  place  as  food, 
which  was  tobacco.  This  became  about  as  great  a  necessity 
with  the  colonists  as  food  and  its  use  became  general  in  all 
the  colonies  ,and  among  all  classes  of  people,  and  even  with 
women.  If  there  was  one  people  above  all  the  other  colonists 
in  the  use  of  tobacco  it  was  the  New  York  Dutch,  who  smoked 
incessantly,  and  yet  the  New  Englanders  were  not  far  away 
from  the  lead.  "Boston  was  the  best  market  for  snuff.  The 
early  lawmakers  of  Massachusetts  had  sought  to  put  tobacco 
under  ban,  or  at  least  to  hamper  it,  after  the  example  set  in 
England,  where  tobacco  was  forbidden  in  ale-houses  because 
it  was  believed  to  excite  a  thirst  for  strong  drink.  But  re- 
vered preachers  became  fond  of  the  pipe,  and  the  restrictions 
were  quite  broken  down  by  their  example.  Groups  of  New 
England  ministers  were  wont  to  fill  a  room  so  full  of  smoke 
that  it  became  stifling.  Long  before  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  ladies  of  social  standing  in  New  England 
'smoked  it,'  as  the  phrase  ran;  and  in  1708  one  finds  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts  showing  friendly  feeling  by  sociably 
smoking  a  pipe  with  the  wife  of  Judge  Sewall."^^ 

The  colonists  found  .another  food  in  the  woods  that  helped 
them  out  greatly  and  that  was  wild  honey,  which  helped  to 
fill  the  need  of  sugar  which  was  very  scarce  with  them.  They 
also  got  a  supply  of  sweetening  from  the  sugar-maple  tree, 
whose  sap  they  learned  to  use  in  making  sugar  and  syrup. 
This  became  quite  an  important  industry  and  helped  to  give 
a  greater  variety  of  cooked  foods.  This  sugar  making  was 
important  enough  in  Virginia  to  have  it  written  about  by 
Governor  Berkeley,  wherein  he  called  the  maple  the  sugar- 
tree.  "The  Sugar-Tree  yields  a  kind  of  Sap  or  Juice  which 
by  boiling  is  made  into  Sugar.  This  Juice  is  dra'VAm  out,  by 
wounding  the  Trunk  of  the  Tree,  and  placing  a  Receiver 
under  the  Wound.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians  make  one 
Pound  of  Sugar  out  of  eight  Pounds  of  the  Liquor.  It  is 
bright  and  moist  with  a  full  large  Grain,  the  Sweetness  of  it 
being  like  that  of  good  Muscovada."  ®^ 

But  the  colonists  did  not  altogether  rely  upon  honey  and 
maple-sugar  for  their  sweetening  as  many  families  did  keep 
a  supply  of  sugar,  and  especially  to  sweeten  the  tea.  This 
was  in  the  form  of  a  loaf  or  cone,  caUed  loaf-sugar,  which 

*' Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home,  Century  magazine,  VII,  886. 
'"Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  111. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  369 

weighed  nine  or  ten  pounds,  and  one  cone  would  usually  last 
a  family  an  entire  year.  The  sugar  was  cut  up  into  lumps  of 
equal  and  regular  size  by  the  women  of  the  household,  for 
which  purpose  they  had  sugar-shears  or  sugar-cutters. 

The  colonists  began  to  raise  cattle  and  hogs  and  sheep  and 
so  when  wild  game  became  scarce  the  domestic  animals  fur- 
nished the  meat.  There  were  no  ways  for  keeping  meat  fresh 
for  any  length  of  time  after  it  was  killed  and  so  it  had  to  be 
preserved  b}'^  being  salted  and  pickled.  They  had  smoke- 
houses for  smoking  and  curing  beef,  ham,  and  bacon.  They 
made  sausage  and  head-cheese  and  rendered  out  the  lard  and 
the  tallow.  "Sausage-meat  was  thus  prepared  in  New  York 
farmhouses.  The  meat  was  cut  coarsely  into  half-inch  pieces 
and  thrown  into  wooden  boxes  about  three  feet  long  and  ten 
inches  deep.  Then  its  first  chopping  was  by  men  using  spades 
which  had  been  ground  to  a  sharp  edge. ' '  ®^ 

With  the  raising  of  Indian  corn  and  the  clearing  of  ground 
so  that  grass  might  grow  abundantly,  the  number  of  cows  in- 
creased till  in  the  eighteenth  century  milk  and  its  products 
became  quite  an  important  industry.  Mrs.  Earle  concludes 
that  butter  was  not  made  by  many  families  in  the  seventeenth 
century  because  of  there  being  so  few  churns,  as  she  states 
that  in  the  inventories  of  the  property  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Maine  there  is  but  one  churn  named.  But  by  the  eighteenth 
century  the  care  of  cream  and  butter-making  went  on  in  every 
household  in  the  country  and  with  many  in  the  town.  Cheese, 
too,  became  a  leading  product  and  one  of  the  staple  foods. 

Drink.  At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  America,  water 
was  not  used  in  Europe  as  a  constant  drink,  and  hence  the 
colonists  were  used  to  other  drinks  and  one  of  their  greatest 
complaints  upon  their  first  living  in  the  new  country  was  on 
account  of  their  being  deprived  of  the  old  country  drinks. 
Governor  Bradford  of  the  Pilgrims  in  Massachusetts  com- 
plained loudly  and  frequently  of  this  deprivation  while  the 
Salem  minister,  Higginson,  in  1629,  boasted  of  his  ability  to 
drink  water.  "Whereas  my  stomach  could  only  digest  and 
did  require  such  a  drink  as  was  both  strong  and  stale,  I  can  and 
of ttimes  do  drink  New  England  water  very  well. ' '  ^'  The 
colonists  were  not  long  without  their  beverages  for  one  of 
their  very  first  importations  from  England  was  beer,  and  soon 
they  were  manufacturing  ale  and  beer  themselves,  and  in  1675 

*'  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  154. 

'*  Earlo,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  163. 


370  The  Eistorical  Child 

Cotton  Mather  stated  that  every  other  house  in  Boston  was 
an  ale-house. 

Although  for  a  short  time  the  colonists  might  have  had 
to  use  water,  yet  that  did  not  change  their  taste  for  other 
drinks,  and  through  manufactures  and  importations,  the 
country  became  flooded  with  liquors  and  the  drink-habit  be- 
came universal.  There  was  no  class  of  people  among  the 
colonists  that  would  be  considered  temperate  according  to 
present-day  standards.  Drink  was  a  part  of  every  transac- 
tion, of  every  doing  in  both  public  and  private  life,  as,  auc- 
tions, buyings  and  sellings,  signing  a  deed,  drawing  up  a  con- 
tract ;  house-raisings,  the  moving  into  a  new  house,  the  arrival 
and  departure  of  friends;  the  election  of  officers,  the  assem- 
bling of  a  court,  the  arbitration  of  a  suit ;  funerals,  weddings, 
the  birth  of  a  child ;  the  ordaining  of  deacons,  the  induction  of 
a  new  minister,  the  assembling  of  a  body  of  clergymen,  the 
opening  of  a  yearly  Quaker  meeting,  and  even  religious  meet- 
ings in  private  houses. 

"In  Boston,  and  perhaps  elsewhere,  the  great  punch-bowl 
came  on  the  table  first  of  all;  the  master  of  the  house,  after 
setting  an  example,  sent  around  the  table  the  cup  that  he  had 
drunk  from,  that  each  guest  might  drink  in  turn.  A  'gener- 
ous bottle'  of  fiery  Madeira  topped  off  every  dinner  among  the 
gentry  in  New  York.  In  Virginia  a  host  now  and  then  showed 
his  hospitality  by  locking  the  door  and  cheerily  notifying  his 
guests  that  no  man  might  depart  until  all  were  drunk."  ®^ 

As  was  stated  above,  before  coming  to  this  country  the 
colonists  were  unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  water  as  a  constant 
beverage  and  upon  arriving  in  America  they  complained  bit- 
terly at  having  to  drink  water.  They  not  only  considered  it 
a  hardship  to  be  deprived  of  their  accustomed  drinks,  but  also 
they  had  been  trained  to  consider  it  dangerous  to  health  to 
drink  water.  Water  was  believed  to  contain  matter  injurious 
to  health  and  so  they  really  seemed  to  have  dreaded  its  use 
and  all  the  more  so  because  in  those  days  there  was  no 
analyzing  of  the  water  to  learn  of  its  ingredients  and  the 
mystery  and  lore  surrounding  it  made  it  seem  all  the  more 
dangerous.  Being  compelled  to  use  water  upon  their  arrival 
in  America,  the  Puritan  settlers  were  greatly  surprised  that 
instead  of  being  injurious  it  was  found  to  agree  with  them  and 
that  there  was  improvement  in  health  instead  of  deterioration. 
This  fact  so  impressed  Governor  Winthrop  that  he  continued 

*  Eggleston,  The  colonists  at  home,  Century  magazine,  VII,  885. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  371 

water  as  a  constant  drink  in  his  family  and  in  1630  he  stopped 
the  custom  of  drinking  healths  at  his  table.  This  example  of 
their  chief  officer  must  have  had  its  influence,  for  laws  were 
passed  against  excessive  drinking  and  drunkenness  and 
against  drinking  healths  in  public  and  thus  was  tried  to  keep 
down  so  great  drinking.  These  laws  had  some  good  effects 
for  during  *the  seventeenth  century,  judged  at  least  by  the 
standards  of  their  times,  it  would  appear  for  the  great  part 
that  the  New  Englanders  were  sober  and  law-abiding. 

It  must  be  recognized  that  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  of 
America  by  European  colonies,  alcoholic  stimulants  were  con- 
sidered a  necessary  part  of  living,  about  as  necessary  a  pro- 
vision as  bread,  and,  further,  that  water  was  looked  upon  as 
really  dangerous  to  health.  So  it  need  not  be  so  greatly  won- 
dered at  that  the  colonists  were  so  much  given  to  drink  al- 
most anything  and  everything  but  water  and  also  it  may 
account  somewhat  for  the  many  kinds  of  drinks,  for  not  only 
were  they  seeking  drinks  that  were  palatable  but  also  that 
were  healthful.  They  not  only  imported  all  kinds  of  drinks 
but  manufactured  them  here  and  likewise  experimented  with 
materials  that  were  found  here  but  not  in  Europe,  as  the 
Indian  corn  and  other  plants.  Yet  the  above  does  not  hide 
the  fact  that  the  colonists  were  great  drinkers  and  that  they 
drank  because  they  wanted  to  and  would  have  drank,  excuse 
or  no  excuse.  Nevertheless,  there  were  efforts  made  against 
drunkenness  even  in  those  days  and  some  good  starts  made, 
too. 

The  colonists  made  whisky  from  rye,  wheat,  barley,  and 
also  from  potatoes  and  Indian  corn.  They  imported  rum  from 
the  West  Indies  and,  too,  imported  the  molasses  and  made  the 
rum  themselves.  "The  making  of  rum  aided  and  almost  sup- 
ported the  slave-trade  in  this  country.  The  poor  negroes  were 
bought  on  the  coast  of  Africa  by  New  England  sea-captains 
and  merchants  and  paid  for  with  barrels  of  New  England 
rum.  These  slaves  were  then  carried  on  slave-ships  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  sold  at  a  large  profit  to  planters  and  slave- 
dealers  for  a  cargo  of  molasses.  This  was  brought  to  New 
England,  distilled  into  rum,  and  sent  off  to  Africa.  Thus  the 
circle  of  molasses,  rum,  and  slaves  was  completed."^"  Beer 
was  the  first  drink,  and  even  among  the  very  first  articles 
imported  from  England  by  the  Puritan  settlers.  They  soon 
learned  to  make  beer  from  the  Indian  com  and  "the  pious 

'"  EarlCj  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  163. 


372  The  Historical  Child 

Puritans  quickly  learned  to  cheat  in  their  brewing,  using 
molasses  and  coarse  sugar. ' '  ^^  The  Dutch  established  brew- 
eries at  New  York  and  Albany  and  they  were  great  beer- 
drinkers.  The  English  colonists,  both  in  New  England  and  in 
Virginia,  were  not  such  great  users  of  beer,  but  found  other 
drinks  to  take  its  place.  One  such  drink  was  metheglin  or 
mead,  made  from  honey,  yeast,  and  water  in  England,  while 
in  this  country  it  was  learned  as  well  to  make  it  from  the 
sweet-bean  of  the  honey-locust  and  also  by  a  concoction  of 
honey  and  a  liquid  from  a  mixture  of  various  herbs,  and  which 
was  considered  a  fine  drink.  In  Virginia  a  home-made  beer 
was  made  from  Indian  corn  meal,  from  the  green  stalks  of- 
the  Indian  corn,  from  baked  cakes  of  a  paste  of  persimmons, 
from  potatoes,  and  from  artichokes.  In  New  England  the 
small  beer  was  made  by  a  mixture  of  a  decoction  made  from 
spruce  or  birch  or  sassafras  twigs  and  molasses  and  water  or 
by  boiling  the  twigs  in  the  sap  of  the  sugar  maple.  There 
were  plenty  of  wines  imported  and  vineyards  were  planted 
and  wines  were  made  by  the  colonists.  Also  brandies  were 
imported  and  manufactured. 

As  apple  orchards  increased  and  apples  became  plentiful, 
cider  became  the  great  drink  in  New  England.  It  became  the 
common  drink  of  the  people  and  it  was  made  in  vast  quanti- 
ties. It  was  very  cheap  and  used  everywhere,  being  used  in 
large  amounts  by  students  at  college,  given  to  children  at 
meals,  furnished  to  travelers  and  to  Indians,  and  indeed  to 
any  one  who  wished  it.  "Beverige"  was  another  common 
drink,  mild  in  its  character,  made  in  various  ways,  one  way 
being  of  water  flavored  with  molasses  and  ginger.  Another 
such  drink  was  sillabub,  in  one  form  made  of  cider  with  sugar, 
nutmeg,  and  cream  added.  There  were  many  other  kinds  of 
drinks,  as,  switchel,  similar  to  beverige,  ebulum  made  from  the 
juice  of  the  elder  and  juniper  berries  mixed  with  ale  and 
spices,  perry  made  from  pears,  peachy  made  from  peaches, 
apple-jack  distilled  from  cider,  flip  made  of  small  beer  and 
sweetened  with  sugar  or  molasses  or  dried  pumpkin  and  rum 
added  and  also  made  in  other  ways.  Beside  all  the  drinks 
enumerated  here  there  were  various  other  kinds. 

"A  terrible  drink  is  said  to  have  been  popular  in  Salem — 
a  drink  with  a  terrible  name — whistle-belly-vengeance.  It 
consisted  of  sour  household  beer  simmered  in  a  kettle,  sweet- 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  164. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  373 

ened  with  molasses,  filled  with  brown-bread  crumbs  and  drunk 
piping  hot. ' '  "^ 

In  the  early  years  of  the  colonists,  they  did  not  have  tea 
or  coffee  or  chocolate  as  drinks  since  they  were  not  in  use  in 
England  at  the  time.  It  was  not  till  about  the  last  third  of 
the  seventeenth  century  that  these  drinks  were  introduced 
into  the  colonies  and  it  was  not  till  the  first  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  their  use  had  become  any  ways  gen- 
eral. About  this  time  came  the  porcelain  ware  specially  de- 
signed for  the  use  of  tea  and  lacquered  tables  on  which  to 
serve  it  and  tea-drinking  became  fashionable  throughout  the 
country.  In  Virginia  upon  the  calling  of  the  young  men  of 
afternoons  the  young  ladies  served  them  with  tea.  The  Dutch 
of  New  York  served  tea  with  a  lump  of  sugar  at  each  cup, 
which  was  placed  in  the  mouth  and  kept  there  while  the  tea 
was  being  sipped.  In  the  early  introduction  of  tea  into  New 
England,  it  was  not  understood  just  how  to  prepare  it.  Some- 
times the  tea  was  boiled  quite  a  while  till  it  was  bitter  and 
then  drank  without  milk  or  sugar.  Again,  after  the  boiling 
of  the  tea  the  liquid  was  poured  off  and  the  cooked  leaves 
eaten  and  to  make  them  more  to  the  taste  the  leaves  were 
buttered  and  salted.  It  is  unexplainable  how  people  who  were 
not  afraid  of  any  drink  whatever  providing  it  was  not  water 
should  have  feared  to  drink  tea,  and  yet  such  was  the  case. 
When  tea-drinking  began  to  be  general  there  were  many  ut- 
terances against  it,  such  terms  being  used  as  "detestable 
weed,"  "base  exotick, "  "rank  poison  far-fetched  and  dear 
bought,"  "base  and  unworthy  Indian  drink."  Many  ill 
effects  were  ascribed  to  tea-drinking,  such  as  the  frequent 
decay  and  loss  of  teeth  in  America  and  ill-health  in  general 
and  as  being  especially  injurious  to  the  mind.  During  the 
time  just  before  and  at  the  Revolution  tea  was  proscribed  by 
the  women  loyal  to  the  cause  of  America  and  many  substitutes 
arose,  as,  the  raspberry,  loose-strife,  goldenrod,  dittany,  black- 
berry, yaupon,  sage,  strawberry,  currant,  thoroughwort,  rib- 
wort, and  many  others.  Of  all  the  substitute  tea-drinks,  Lib- 
erty Tea  was  the  most  esteemed.  "It  was  thus  made:  the 
four-leaved  loose-strife  was  pulled  up  like  flax,  its  stalks  were 
stripped  of  the  leaves  and  boiled ;  the  leaves  were  put  in  an 
iron  kettle  and  basted  with  the  liquor  from  the  stalks.  Then 
the  leaves  were  put  in  an  oven  and  dried.    Liberty  Tea  sold 

"Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  179. 


374  The  Historical  Child 

for  sixpence  a  pound.  It  was  drunk  at  every  spinning-bee, 
quilting,  or  other  gathering  of  women."" 

* '  At  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act,  when  patriotic  Americans 
threw  the  tea  into  Boston  harbor,  Americans  were  just  as 
great  tea-drinkers  as  the  English.  Now  it  is  not  so.  The 
English  drink  much  more  tea  than  we  do;  and  the  habit  of 
coffee-drinking,  first  acquired  in  the  Revolution,  has  descended 
from  generation  to  generation,  and  we  now  drink  more  coffee 
than  tea.  This  is  one  of  the  differences  in  our  daily  life  caused 
by  the  Revolution. ' '  ^* 

In  1670  a  license  to  sell  coffee  and  chocolate  was  granted 
for  an  inn  in  Boston,  which  seems  to  be  the  first  mention  of 
the  use  of  coffee.  From  this  time  on,  other  innkeepers  ob- 
tained license  to  sell  coffee  and  then  came  the  establishment 
of  regular  coffee-houses.  This  drink  also  came  into  use  in 
private  families  and  coffee-pots  and  coffee-mugs  and  coffee 
dishes  were  brought  in  expressly  for  this  use.  As  with  tea, 
some  people  did  not  know  at  first  how  to  prepare  the  coffee 
and  so  sometimes  the  whole  beans  were  boiled  without  being 
crushed  or  ground.  It  is  presumed  that  then  the  liquor  was 
poured  off  and  the  cooked  beans  eaten  as  in  the  case  with  the 
leaves  of  the  tea,  but  no  statements  are  made  that  such  was 
really  the  fact.  Chocolate,  too,  came  into  use  at  this  time,  and 
it  soon  became  quite  a  popular  drink  and  mills  to  grind  the 
cocoa  were  established  in  Boston. 

Whatever  prejudice  the  colonists  may  have  had  against  the 
use  of  water  as  a  drink,  they  certainly  had  none  against  the 
use  of  milk.  Milk  was  used  from  the  first  and  cows  were  in- 
creased in  number  and  milk  became  vei*y  cheap,  as  in  1630 
the  statement  was  made  by  a  minister  of  that  time  that  milk 
cost  but  a  penny  a  quart  in  Salem.  It  is  found  that  writers 
among  the  colonists  placed  as  being  used  together  milk  and 
bread,  milk  and  hasty  pudding,  milk  and  baked  apples,  and 
milk  and  berries. 

Food  ajid  Drink  of  Children.  There  is  not  a  great  deal 
left  to  us  in  the  writings  preserved  from  colonial  times  in 
reference  to  the  food  and  drink  of  children  of  those  days. 
But  it  is  safe  to  judge  that  very  much  what  the  adults  had 
the  children  would  have  had,  modified  to  suit  the  needs  of  the 
different  ages  and  added  to  such  would  be  some  things  that 
are  used  mostly  in  childhood,  as  sweetmeats  and  the  like. 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  181. 
'*  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  165. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  375 

There  was  an  abundance  of  food  for  children  but  not  so 
great  a  variety.  Among  the  good  things  were  the  cereal 
foods,  which  were  plentiful  and  varied,  many  of  such  having 
been  made  from  the  Indian  corn,  as,  samp,  hominy,  supawn, 
pone,  succotash,  described  in  another  part  of  this  chapter. 
Beans  also  were  common  and  made  good  food  for  children. 
There  were  fruits,  as,  pears,  apples,  peaches,  and  cherries,  and 
also  prunes,  figs,  currants  and  raisins.  There  were  several 
kinds  of  berries,  some  ripening  in  the  summer  and  others  in 
the  fall,  which  the  children  gathered,  and,  too,  there  were 
plenty  of  nuts  for  them  to  gather  in. 

Sweetmeats  for  children  were  plentiful  among  the  colonists 
even  in  the  early  days.  There  were  sugar  and  molasses  from 
which  to  make  sweet  things  for  the  children,  not  omitting 
maple  sugar.  Eaisins  were  brought  in  by  the  ships  in  large 
quantities  for  they  were  quite  a  dainty  with  the  colonial  chil- 
dren and  in  great  demand.  There  was  not  a  great  variety  of 
candy,  among  such  being  lemon-peel  candy,  angelica  candy, 
rock  candy,  sugar  candy.  Black  Jack,  and  Gibraltar  Rock.  It 
would  be  surmised  that  this  latter  named  candy  must  have 
had  lasting  qualities  like  the  all-day  sucker  of  the  present-day 
child.  Rock-candy  was  the  favorite  and  great  amounts  of  it 
were  brought  in  from  China  by  the  ships,  one  vessel  having 
brought  in  at  one  time  sixty  tubs  of  this  cand3\  There  were 
candied  eryngo-root,  candied  lemon-peel,  and  sugared  cori- 
ander-seeds. The  children  had  plenty  of  cakes  those  days  and 
each  city  had  some  one  confectioner  or  baker  who  was  noted 
for  his  cakes.  Boston  had  Meer  's  cakes.  There  were  cookies, 
crullers,  egg  cakes,  marchpanes,  maccaroons,  and  other  kinds. 

Much  less  is  given  about  the  drink  of  children  of  colonial 
times  than  even  about  the  food.  IMrs.  Earle  found  in  an  old 
almanac  of  the  eighteenth  century,  where  advice  was  given  on 
the  "Easy  Rearing  of  Children,"  that  young  children  should 
never  be  allowed  to  drink  cold  drinks,  but  should  always  have 
their  beer  a  little  heated.  Children  were  given  all  the  cider 
they  wanted,  even  very  little  children  drank  it.  Fortunately 
for  the  colonial  children  milk  was  very  plentiful  and  cheap  so 
they  had  plenty  of  that  to  drink.  That  children  were  given 
the  drinks  of  their  elders  is  shown  in  the  following: 

"This  picture  has  been  given  by  Sargent  of  country  fu- 
nerals in  the  days  of  his  youth :  '  "When  I  was  a  boy,  and  was 
at  an  academy  in  the  country,  everybody  went  to  everybody's 
funeral  in  the  village.     The  population  was  small,  funerals 


376  The  Historical  Child 

rare ;  the  preceptor's  absence  would  have  excited  remarks,  and 
the  boys  were  dismissed  for  the  funeral.  A  table  with  liquors 
was  always  provided.  Every  one,  as  he  entered,  took  off  his 
hat  with  his  left  hand,  smoothed  down  his  hair  with  his 
right,  walked  up  to  the  coffin,  gazed  upon  the  corpse,  made 
a  crooked  face,  passed  on  to  the  table,  took  a  glass  of  his  favor- 
ite liquor,  went  forth  upon  the  plat  before  the  house  and 
talked  politics,  or  of  the  new  road,  or  compared  crops,  or 
swapped  heifers,  or  horses  until  it  was  time  to  lift.  A  clergy- 
man told  me  that  when  settled  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  he  offi- 
ciated at  the  funeral  of  a  little  boy.  The  body  was  borne 
in  a  chaise,  and  six  little  nominal  pall-bearers,  the  oldest  not 
thirteen,  walked  by  the  side  of  the  vehicle.  Before  they  left 
the  house  a  sort  of  master  of  ceremonies  took  them  to  the 
table  and  mixed  a  tumbler  of  gin,  water,  and  sugar  for 
each.'  "'^ 

Infancy.  It  would  be  expected  that  a  child  born  in  any 
new  country  would  have  to  undergo  hardships,  and  this  was 
particularly  true  of  a  child  born  in  a  rugged  climate  as  in 
New  England  and  among  the  early  settlers  who  were  so 
poorly  prepared  to  withstand  the  rigors  of  a  winter  of  that 
region.  In  a  severe  climate,  with  houses  not  very  warmly 
built  and  so  poorly  heated  that  within  a  yard  of  the  fire-place 
on  a  very  cold  day  water  would  freeze,  it  could  not  be  pos- 
sible for  a  baby  always  or  even  ever  to  be  kept  comfortable. 

Both  in  Dutch  New  York  and  Puritan  New  England  the 
babe  of  a  few  daj^s  old  was  taken  to  the  meeting-house  to  be 
baptized.  This  usually  occurred  among  the  Puritans  on  the 
first  Sunday  following  the  child's  birth,  whether  summer  or 
winter,  whatever  the  weather,  and  it  must  take  place  in  the 
meeting-house.  As  these  meeting-houses  had  no  fires  in  them, 
often  on  many  a  cold  day  the  water  in  the  christening-bowl 
froze  and  the  ice  had  to  be  broken  and  the  icy  water  was 
used  on  the  child  of  less  than  a  week  old.  The  weather  might 
be  too  cold  for  some  of  the  adults  to  attend  the  ceremony  but 
never  too  cold  for  the  baby,  as  is  shown  in  the  following 
record  made  on  January  22,  1694,  in  the  diary  of  Judge 
Samuel  Sewall  of  Boston.  "A  very  extraordinary  Storm  by 
reason  of  the  falling  and  driving  of  Snow.  Few  women 
could  get  to  Meeting.  A  Child  named  Alexander  was  bap- 
tized in  the  afternoon."''^    "Worst  of  all,  one  Puritan  parson 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  371. 
"  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  4. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  377 

is  recorded  as  immersing  the  infants  and  he  only  stopped  the 
dangerous  and  cruel  practice  when  his  own  little  babe  nearly 
lost  its  life  by  such. 

There  was  great  mortality  among  infants  in  the  colonial 
times  and  especially  in  the  earlier  days.  In  one  family  of 
fourteen  children,  but  three  outlived  the  father,  the  majority 
of  the  children  dying  in  infancy ;  in  another  family  of  fifteen 
children  but  two  survived  the  father,  and  of  these,  too,  the 
greater  number  died  in  infancy;  in  a  third  family  five  chil- 
dren in  succession  died  in  infancy,  so  that  when  the  mother 
had  been  married  nine  years  she  had  one  living  child  and 
there  were  five  little  graves  to  tell  the  story  of  her  life  and 
sufferings. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  medicine  was  yet  being  influ- 
enced by  astrology  and  necromancy,  there  being  quite  a 
strong  belief  in  occult  influences.  Consequently  there  was 
recorded  the  birth  not  only  in  the  year,  month,  and  day,  but 
as  well  the  hour  and  minute,  so  that  it  might  be  ascertained 
under  what  planet  the  child  was  born  and  thus  be  reckoned 
what  influences  for  good  or  evil  were  ascendent  at  his  birth. 

The  most  common  diseases  of  infancy  at  the  time  were 
worms,  rickets,  and  fits,  to  use  their  plain  Anglo-Saxon  terms. 
The  most  famous  medicines  for  the  cure  of  rickets  used  snails 
as  the  basis  of  its  formation,  one  noted  receipt  for  making 
this  snail  water  comes  down  to  us  as  follows: 

"The  admirable  and  most  famous  Snail  water. — Take  a 
peck  of  garden  Shel  Snails,  wash  them  well  in  Small  Beer, 
and  put  them  in  an  oven  till  they  have  done  making  a  Noise, 
then  take  them  out  and  wipe  them  well  from  the  green  froth 
that  is  upon  them,  and  bruise  them  shels  and  all  in  a  Stone 
Mortar,  then  take  a  Quart  of  Earthworms,  scowre  them  with 
salt,  slit  them,  and  wash  well  with  water  from  their  filth, 
and  in  a  stone  Mortar  beat  them  in  pieces,  then  lay  in  the 
bottom  of  your  distilled  pot  Angelica  two  handfuls,  and  two 
handfuls  of  Celandine  upon  them,  to  which  put  two  quarts 
of  Rosemary  flowers,  Bearsfoot,  Agrimony,  red  Dock  roots, 
Bark  of  Barberries,  Betony  wood  Sorrel  of  each  two  hand- 
fuls, Eue  one  handful ;  then  lay  the  Snails  and  Worms  on 
top  of  the  hearbs  and  flowers,  then  pour  on  three  Gallons  of 
the  Strongest  Ale,  and  let  it  stand  all  night,  in  the  morning 
put  in  three  ounces  of  Cloves  beaten,  sixpennyworth  of 
beaten  Saffron,  and  on  the  top  of  them  six  ounces  of  shaved 
Hartshome,  then  set  on  the  Limbeck,  and  close  it  with  paste 


378  The  Historical  Child 

and  so  receive  the  water  by  pintes,  which  will  be  nine  in  all, 
the  first  is  the  strongest,  whereof  take  in  the  morning  two 
spoonfuls  in  four  spoonfuls  of  small  Beer,  the  like  in  the 
Afternoon. ' ' " 

For  worms  and  fits  snails  also  were  used,  with  senna  and 
rhubarb  and  prunes.  For  teething  there  was  a  famous  Ano- 
dyne Necklace,  which  was  warranted  to  cure  all  disorders 
from  teething,  providing  it  was  properly  used.  There  were 
other  remedies  for  teething,  one  of  which  was  to  scratch  the 
child's  gums  with  an  osprey  bone,  and  another  was  to  hang 
a  string  of  fawn's  teeth  or  wolf's  fangs  around  the  baby's 
neck. 

There  was  a  custom  that  prevailed  in  which  a  dinner  was 
given  to  the  midwife,  nurses,  and  the  other  women  who  had 
given  help  in  the  way  of  work  or  advice  during  the  first  week 
or  two  of  the  child 's  life.  This  occurred  about  the  end  of  the 
child's  second  week.  This  was  a  good  substantial  meal,  at 
one  place  consisting  of  "rost  Beef  and  minc'd  Pyes,  good 
Cheese  and  Tarts, ' '  and  another  dinner  was  of  ' '  Boil  'd  Pork, 
Beef,  Fowls,  very  good  Rost  Beef,  Turkey,  Pye  and  Tarts." 
There  was  also  a  custom  of  visiting  the  young  babe  and 
mother  at  which  presents  of  money,  clothing,  or  trinkets  were 
given  to  the  nurse.  A  usual  gift  to  the  young  babe  was  a 
pincushion.  This  was  quite  fancifully  made  and  the  child's 
name  with  a  welcome  was  made  with  pins  stuck  in  the  cushion 
or  sewed  on  in  steel  beads,  the  pins  being  stuck  about  it. 

"The  baby  was  carried  upstairs,  when  first  moved,  with 
silver  and  gold  in  his  hand  to  bring  him  wealth  and  cause 
him  always  to  rise  in  the  world,  just  as  babies  are  carried 
upstairs  by  superstitious  nurses  nowadays,  and  he  had  'scarlet 
laid  on  his  head  to  keep  him  from  harm.'  "  ^^ 

There  were  cradles  for  these  early  babies,  among  the  Puri- 
tans and  Dutch,  each  with  a  deep  hood  to  protect  the  child 
from  the  chilly  drafts  that  were  constantly  occurring  in  the 
poorly  heated  houses,  and  for  twins  there  were  hoods  at  both 
ends  of  the  cradle.  There  were  wooden  cradles,  which  often 
were  paneled  or  carved.  There  were  also  wicker  cradles,  one 
of  which  still  preserved,  Mrs.  Earle  states,  is  one  of  the 
few  authentic  articles  still  surviving  that  came  over  on  the 
Mayflower,  and  which  cradle  was  used  by  Peregrine  White, 
the  first  white  child  born  in  Plymouth.    There  was  also  used 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  6. 
''Ibid.,  5. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  379 

as  a  cradle  an  Indian  basket  with  handles  at  the  ends  whereby 
it  was  hung  up  on  a  wooden  standard  or  frame.  But  per- 
haps the  cradle  most  common  in  the  earlier  colonial  years 
was  one  made  of  birch  bark  by  the  Indian  women  and  ob- 
tained from  them  by  the  white  mothers.  The  covering  for  the 
babe  in  the  cradle  was  a  homespun  blanket  or  a  pressed  quilt. 
The  blanket  or  ''flannel  sheet"  was  made  of  the  finest  whitest 
wool,  usually  having  the  baby's  initials  marked  on  it. 

"A  finer  coverlet,  one  of  state,  the  christening  blanket,  was 
usually  made  of  silk,  richly  embroidered,  sometimes  with  a 
text  of  Scripture.  These  were  often  lace-bordered  or  edged 
with  a  narrow  home-woven  silk  fringe.  The  christening 
blanket  of  Governor  Bradford  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  still 
exists,  whole  of  fabric  and  unfaded  of  dye.  It  is  a  rich  crim- 
son silk,  soft  of  texture,  like  a  heavy  sarcenet  silk,  and  is 
powdered  at  regular  distances  about  six  inches  apart  with 
conventional  sprays  of  flowers  embroidered  chiefly  in  pink 
and  yellow,  in  minute  and  beautiful  cross-stitch.  It  is  dis- 
tinctly Oriental  in  appearance.  .  .  .  Another  beautiful  silk 
christening  blanket  was  quilted  in  an  intricate  flower 
pattern  in  almost  imperceptible  stitches.  These  formal  wrap- 
pings of  state  were  sometimes  called  bearing-cloths  or  clothes, 
and  served  through  many  generations.  Shakespeare  speaks 
in  Henry  VI.  of  a  child's  bearing-cloth."  ''^ 

In  New  England  a  go-cart  or  standing-stool  was  often  used 
in  teaching  a  baby  to  walk.  As  the  mother  must  go  to  church 
and  as,  of  course,  the  baby  must  go  along,  there  was  some- 
times a  little  wooden  cage,  or  something  similar,  to  hold  the 
young  baby,  while  in  the  church. 

Number  and  Names  of  Children.  It  is,  perhaps,  true  that 
in  a  new  country  the  average  number  of  children  to  a  family 
is  greater  than  in  older  settled  places.  Although  there  were 
many  instances  of  quite  large  families  among  the  colonists  of 
the  United  States,  yet,  as  was  noted  under  Infancy,  there 
were  so  many  deaths  among  the  little  ones  that  there  were 
many  families  with  a  small  number  of  children.  Children 
were  welcomed  by  the  colonists  and  there  was  plenty  of  room 
for  them  and  each  child  could  find  work  about  him  to  make 
himself  helpful  and  not  burdensome. 

There  are  records  of  very  large  families.  One  mother  had 
twenty-six  children,  one  man  was  the  father  of  thirty  chil- 
dren, and  families  of  fifteen  children  were  not  rare.     Cotton 

"Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  23. 


380  The  Historical  Child 

Mather  states  that, ' '  One  woman  had  not  less  than  twenty -two 
children,  and  another  had  not  less  than  twenty-three  children 
by  one  husband,  whereof  nineteen  lived  to  man's  estate,  anS 
a  third  was  mother  to  seven  and  twenty  children, "®° 

There  seemingly  was  no  particular  trouble  about  finding 
names  for  all  these  children.  Except  among  the  Puritans 
double  names  were  rarely  given  before  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution. There  were  various  reasons  for  naming  the  children 
and  often  the  poor  little  babe  was  burdened  with  a  name  that 
must,  as  looked  at  nowadays,  have  caused  it  when  older  much 
pain  and  anger  at  its  parents  for  inflicting  such  a  punishment 
so  unjustly  deserved  in  its  helpless  state.  Often  the  God- 
fearing parents  sought  out  names  of  deep  significance,  such 
as  they  thought  would  affect  the  child 's  life  and  be  productive 
of  good  upon  its  career.  An  expectant  mother  being  widowed 
by  the  death  of  her  husband  in  a  snowstorm,  upon  the  birth 
of  her  child  named  it  Fathergone.  A  child  named  Seaborn 
told  its  place  of  birth  in  its  name.  Among  the  Puritans  of 
New  England  names  as  the  following  were  common  and 
show  by  their  significance  why  the  children  were  so  named: 
Deliverance,  Temperance,  Endurance,  Patience,  Silence,  Sub- 
mit, Rejoice,  Comfort,  Hoped  For,  Peace,  Joy,  Faith,  Love, 
Hope,  Charity. 

"The  children  of  Roger  Clap  were  named  Experience, 
Waitstill,  Preserved,  Hopestill,  Wait,  Thanks,  Desire,  Unite, 
and  Supply.  Madam  Austin,  an  early  settler  of  old  Narragan- 
sett,  had  sixteen  children.  Their  names  were  Parvis,  Picus, 
Piersus,  Prisemus,  Polybius,  Lois,  Lettice,  Avis,  Anstice, 
Eunice,  Mary,  John,  Elizabeth,  Ruth,  Freelove.  All  lived  to 
be  three-score  and  ten,  one  to  be  a  hundred  and  two  years  old. 
Edward  Bendall's  children  were  named  Truegrace,  Reform, 
Hoped  for.  More  mercy,  and  Restore.  Richard  Gridley's  off- 
spring were  Return,  Believe,  and  Tremble, ' '  ^^ 

Child  Welfare.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  welfare  of  their 
children  was  considered  by  the  colonists,  as  with  any  body  of 
people,  but  the  hardships  of  a  settling  people  would  react 
upon  child  life  as  well  as  upon  adult  life.  Much  of  the 
seeming  harshness  of  the  Puritan  settlers  toward  their  chil- 
dren was  brought  forth  by  the  stern  necessities  under  which 
they  had  to  live  as  well  as  the  sternness  of  their  religious 
ideas.     They  did  not  try  to  find  for  themselves  easy  paths 

'"  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  12. 
■"I&td.,  16. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  381 

of  going  and  they  did  not  always  see  that  these  paths  were 
extremely  rough  for  j'oung  and  tender  feet.  This  is  illus- 
trated in  the  writings  of  one  of  them  who  was  giving  advice 
on  the  rearing  of  children,  in  which  he  urged  that  boys  should 
go  without  hats  to  harden  them  and  children's  feet  should  be 
wet  in  cold  water  and  also  they  should  wear  thin-soled  shoes 
in  order  to  toughen  the  feet.  Whether  following  the  sug- 
gestions of  this  writer  or  not,  the  parents  of  Josiah  Quincy 
did  act  in  accord  with  them  for  when  he  wa.s  but  three  years 
of  age,  in  winter  and  summer,  they  w^ould  take  him  out  of 
his  bed  of  a  morning  and  carry  him  to  a  cellar  kitchen  and 
dip  him  three  times  in  a  tub  of  cold  water  fresh  from  the 
pump,  and  also  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  care  of  his  feet, 
so  that  in  his  boyhood  his  feet  were  wet  for  half  the  time  or 
more. 

This  rough  treatment  of  children  is  likewise  shown  in  ref- 
erence to  their  position  at  meals.  In  those  old  days  children 
were  often  not  permitted  to  be  seated  at  their  meals  but  they 
were  to  stand  and  eat  as  rapidly  as  possible,  so  as  to  get  out 
of  the  way  and  troubling  of  the  adults,  and  to  keep  quiet  and 
make  no  complaint  at  their  treatment.  Sometimes  the  chil- 
dren had  to  stand  at  the  side  of  the  table  and  eat  their  food 
standing,  while  the  parents  and  the  other  adults  were  seated. 
Again,  the  children  would  stand  behind  their  parents  and 
the  other  grown  people  and  receive  such  food  as  would  be 
handed  back  to  them  from  the  table,  just  as  with  the  house- 
hold animals.  In  other  families  the  children  stood  at  a  side- 
table  and  they  would  take  their  trenchers  to  the  large  table 
to  receive  the  food  to  take  back  to  their  own  table  to  eat. 

That  these  early  people  w^ere  deeply  interested  in  their 
children's  welfare  and  appreciated  their  hardships  is  shown 
by  the  following  statements  from  the  writings  of  Governor 
Bradford : 

"As  neeessitie  was  a  taskmaster  over  them,  so  they  were 
forced  to  be  such,  not  only  to  their  servants,  but  in  a  sorte, 
to  their  dearest  children ;  the  which,  as  it  did  not  a  little 
wound  ye  tender  hearts  of  many  a  loving  father  and  mother, 
so  it  produced  likewise  sundrie  sad  and  sorrowful  effects. 
For  many  of  their  children,  that  were  of  best  dispositions  and 
gracious  inclinations,  haveing  lernde  to  bear  ye  yoake  in 
their  youth,  and  willing  to  bear  parte  of  their  parents  bur- 
dens, were  often  times  so  oppressed  with  their  hevie  labours, 
that  though  their  minds  were  free  and  willing,  yet  their 


382  The  Historical  Child 

bodies  bowed  under  ye  weight  of  ye  same,  and  became  de- 
creped  in  their  early  youth;  the  vigor  of  nature  being  con- 
sumed in  ye  very  budd  as  it  were.  But  that  which  was  more 
lamentable  and  of  all  sorrowes  most  heavie  to  be  borne,  was, 
that  many  of  their  children,  by  these  occasions,  and  ye  great 
licentiousness  of  youth  in  ye  countrie,  and  ye  manifold  temp- 
tations of  the  place,  were  drawn  away  by  evil  examples  into 
extravagante  and  dangerous  courses,  getting  ye  raines  off 
their  neks  and  departing  from  their  parents.  Some  became 
souldiers,  other  took  upon  them  for  viages  by  sea,  arid  other 
some  worse  courses,  tending  to  disoluteness  and  the  danger  of 
their  soules,  to  ye  great  greef  of  their  parents  and  dishonor 
of  God.  So  that  they  saw  their  posteritie  would  be  in  danger 
to  degenerate  and  be  corrupted. ' '  ^^ 

Manners  and  Courtesy  of  Children.  One  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  age  of  chivalry  in  Europe  was  the  bearing  of 
the  young  people  toward  their  elders  and  superiors  and  par- 
ents, and  this  idea  was  carried  down  through  the  ages  and 
even  was  brought  to  America,  so  that  the  character  of  the 
colonial  child  was  greatly  influenced  by  those  old  laws  of 
courtesy.  Such  often  made  little  boys  and  girls  act  as  older 
people  and  to  be  dressed  in  an  oldish  way.  Little  girls  were 
frequently  addressed  with  the  stiff  term  Mistress,  even  the 
term  Miss  not  being  strong  enough  as  it  was  deemed  to  be 
lacking  in  dignity,  designating  childishness  and  flippancy 
and  lack  of  character.  In  a  written  funeral  tribute  to  a  little 
girl  of  seven,  she  was  designated  as  "Mrs.  Rebeckah  Sewall," 
and  another  child  was  written  of  as  "Mrs.  Sarah  Gerrish,  a 
very  beautiful  and  ingenious  damsel  seven  years  of  age." 

There  were  books  of  etiquette  for  children  offering  rules 
for  their  guidance,  among  the  things  found  in  them  being 
the  following: 

"Never  sit  down  at  the  table  till  asked,  and  after  the 
blessing.  Ask  for  nothing;  tarry  till  it  be  offered  thee. 
Speak  not.  Bite  not  thy  bread  but  break  it.  Take  salt  only 
with  a  clean  knife.  Dip  not  the  meat  in  the  same.  Hold  not 
thy  knife  upright  but  sloping,  and  lay  it  down  at  right  hand 
of  plate  with  blade  on  plate.  Look  not  earnestly  at  any  other 
that  is  eating.  When  moderately  satisfied  leave  the  table. 
Sing  not,  hum  not,  wriggle  not.  Spit  no  where  in  the  room 
but  in  the  comer." 

"Eat  not  too  fast  nor  with  Greedy  Behavior.     Eat  not 

"Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  16. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  383 

vastly  but  moderately.  Make  not  a  noise  with  thy  Tongue, 
Mouth,  Lips,  or  Breath  in  Thy  Eating  and  Drinking.  Smell 
not  of  thy  Meat ;  nor  put  it  to  Thy  Nose ;  turn  it  not  to  the 
other  side  upward  on  Thy  Plate." 

"When  any  speak  to  thee,  stand  up.  Say  not  I  have  heard 
it  before.  Never  endeavor  to  help  him  out  if  he  tell  it  not 
right.    Snigger  not;  never  question  the  Truth  of  it."*^ 

Children  were  taught  to  be  considerate  of  the  old  and 
afflicted  and  to  respect  and  honor  their  parents.  This  often 
led  to  a  stiff  and  formal  manner  as  is  shown  in  the  following 
letter  written  by  a  girl  of  eleven  residing  on  Long  Island : 

"Ever  Honored  Grandfather; 

Sir:  My  long  absence  from  you  and  my  dear  Grand- 
mother has  been  not  a  little  tedious  to  me.  But  what  renders 
me  a  Vast  Deal  of  pleasure  is  Being  intensely  happy  with  a 
Dear  and  Tender  Mother-in-Law  and  frequent  oppertunities 
of  hearing  of  your  Health  and  Welf air  which  I  pray  God  may 
long  Continue.  What  I  have  more  to  add  is  to  acquaint  you 
that  I  have  already  made  a  Considerable  Progress  in  Learn- 
ing. I  have  already  gone  through  some  Rules  of  Arithmetic, 
and  in  a  little  Time  shall  be  able  of  giving  you  a  Better  acct 
of  my  Learning,  and  in  the  mean  time  I  am  Duty  Bound  to 
subscribe  myself 

Your  most  obedient  and 

Duty  full  Granddaughter 

Pegga  Treadwell.  " '* 

Another  little  girl  of  eleven,  in  this  same  manner  closes  a 
letter  written  at  Boston  in  1771  to  her  parents  in  Nova 
Scotia : 

''With  Duty,  Love  &  Compliments  as  due,  perticularly  to 
my  Dear  little  brother  (I  long  to  see  him)  &  Mrs.  Law,  I 
will  write  to  her  soon. 

I  am  Hon*^  Papa  &  mama, 

Yr  Dutiful  Daughter 

Anne  Green  Winslow.  ' '  ^' 

Yet  withal  there  were  boys  in  those  old  colonial  days  who 
were  as  boys  in  all  times  and  among  all  peoples.    They  played 

^'Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  215,  216,  217. 
"  Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  16. 
'"Earle,  Diary  of  Anna  Green  Winslow,  8. 


384  The  Historical  Child 

and  shouted  and  raced  in  the  streets  and  were  reprimanded 
by  the  authorities ;  they  worried  the  poor  night  patrolman  in 
New  Amsterdam  by  setting  dogs  on  him  and  by  getting  be- 
hind trees  and  fences  and  shouting  out  to  him  "The  In- 
dians!" they  made  disorder  in  the  churches  of  the  Puritans 
and  were  knocked  on  the  head  with  the  hard  knob  of  the 
long  stick  of  the  tithing-man;  they  robbed  orchards,  tore 
down  gates,  frightened  horses,  and  threw  stones  at  dogs  and 
cats  and  at  each  other;  they  beat  and  kicked  one  another  and 
produced  bloody  noses;  "worse  yet,  when  the  girls  went  forth 
to  gather  'daisies  and  butter-flowers,'  the  ungallant  boys 
kicked  the  girls  'to  make  them  pipe.'  "  *^ 

Diary  of  a  Boston  School  Girl  of  1771.  Of  the  quaint  and 
delightful  things  that  are  preserved  to  us  of  those  old  days  of 
our  country,  to  me  there  are  none  others  more  attractive  than 
the  writings  of  a  little  Boston  school  girl,  gathered  up  and 
put  in  book  form  by  Mrs.  Alice  Morse  Earle.®^  These 
writings  are  the  diary  of  Anna  Green  Winslow,  who  in  1770, 
at  the  age  of  ten  years,  was  sent  from  her  home  in  Nova 
Scotia  to  Boston,  the  birthplace  of  her  parents,  to  "finish" 
her  education  in  the  schools  of  that  city.  I  shall  not  at- 
tempt to  analyze  these  writings,  that  is  thoroughly  done  by 
Mrs.  Earle  in  her  Foreword,  but  simply  give  a  few  extracts, 
without  comment,  to  show  somewhat  the  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings of  a  girl  who  lived  in  Boston  during  those  stirring  times, 
1771-1773,  and  whose  father  was  a  paymaster  in  the  English 
army  and  loyal  to  his  king. 

In  her  Foreword  IMrs.  Earle  tells  of  the  condition  of  the 
diary.  "It  covers  seventy-two  pages  of  paper  about  eight 
inches  long  by  six  and  a  half  inches  wide.  The  writing  is 
uniform  in  size,  every  letter  is  perfectly  formed ;  it  is  as  legi- 
ble as  print,  and  in  the  entire  diary  but  three  blots  can  be 
seen,  and  these  are  very  small.  A  few  pages  were  ruled  by 
the  writer,  the  others  are  unruled.  The  old  paper,  though 
heavy  and  good,  is  yellow  with  age,  and  the  water  marks 
C.  J.  R.  and  the  crown  stand  out  distinctly.  The  sheets  are 
sewed  in  a  little  book,  on  which  a  marbled  paper  cover  has 
been  placed,  probably  by  a  later  hand  than  Anna's.  Alto- 
gether it  is  a  remarkably  creditable  production  for  a  girl  of 
twelve. ' ' 

"My  Aunt  Deming  says  I  shall  make  one  pye  myself  at 

"  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  226. 

*'  Earle,  Diary  of  Anna  Green  Winslow,  A  Boston  School  Girl  of  1771. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  385 

least.  I  hope  somebody  beside  myself  will  like  to  eat  a  bit 
of  my  Boston  pye,  thou'  my  papa  and  you  did  not  (I  re- 
member) chuse  to  partake  of  my  Cumberland  performance. 
.  .  .  My  aunt  Deming  gives  her  love  to  you  and  says  it  is 
this  morning  12  years  ago  since  she  had  the  pleasure  of  con- 
gratulating papa  and  you  on  the  birth  of  your  scribling 
daughter.  She  hopes  if  I  live  12  years  longer  that  I  shall 
write  and  do  everything  better  than  can  be  expected  in  the 
past  12.  .  ,  .  Dear  mamma,  you  don 't  know  the  f ation  here — 
I  beg  to  look  like  other  folk.  You  dont  know  what  a  stir 
would  be  made  in  sudbury  street,  were  I  to  make  my  appear- 
ance there  in  my  red  Dominie  &  black  Hatt.  .  .  .  My  aunt 
also  says,  that  till  I  come  out  of  an  egregious  fit  of  laughterre 
that  is  apt  to  seize  me  &  the  violence  of  which  I  am  at  this 
present  under,  neither  English  sense,  nor  anything  rational 
may  be  expected  of  me.  .  .  .  Elder  "Whitwell  told  my  aunt, 
that  this  winter  began  as  did  the  Winter  of  1740.  How  that 
was  I  don't  remember  but  this  T  know,  that  to-day  is  by  far 
the  coldest  we  have  had  since  I  have  been  in  New  England. 
(N.  B.  All  run  that  are  abroad.)  ...  I  began  my  shift  at 
12  o'clock  last  monday,  have  read  my  bible  every  day  this 
week  &  wrote  every  day  save  one.  .  .  .  Unkle  is  just  come 
in  with  a  letter  from  Papa  in  his  hand  (&  none  for  me)  by 
way  of  New  bury.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  all  was  well  the 
26  Nov""  ult.  I  am  told  my  Papa  has  not  mention 'd  me 
in  this  Letter.  Out  of  sight,  out  of  mind.  .  .  .  My  cloak  & 
bonnet  are  really  very  handsome,  &  so  they  had  need  be.  For 
they  cost  an  amasing  sight  of  monej',  not  quite  £-45  tho '  Aunt 
Suky  said,  that  she  suppos'd  Aunt  Deming  would  be  fright- 
ened out  of  her  Wits  at  the  money  it  cost.  I  have  got  one 
covering,  by  the  cost,  that  is  genteel,  &  I  like  it  much  myself. 
...  I  heard  Mr.  Thacher  preach  our  Lecture  last  evening 
Heb.  II.  3.  I  remember  a  great  deal  of  the  sermon,  but  a'nt 
time  to  put  it  down.  It  is  one  year  last  Sep""  since  he  was  or- 
dain'd  &  he  will  be  20  years  of  age  next  May  if  he  lives  so 
long.  ...  I  have  now  the  pleasure  to  give  you  the  result,  viz., 
a  very  genteel  well  regulated  assembly  which  we  had  at  Mr. 
Soley's  last  evening,  miss  Soley  being  mistress  of  the  cere- 
mony. We  had  two  fiddles,  &  I  had  the  honor  to  open  the  di- 
version of  the  evening  in  a  minuet  with  mis.s  Soley.  Our  treat 
was  nuts,  raisins,  Cakes,  Wine,  punch,  hot  &  cold,  all  in  great 
plenty.  We  had  a  very  agreeable  evening  from  5  to  10  o  'clock. 
For  variety  we  woo'd  a  widow,  hunted  the  whistle,  threaded 


386  The  Historical  Child 

the  needle,  &  while  the  company  was  collecting,  we  diverted 
ourselves  with  the  playing  of  pawns,  no  rudeness  Mamma  I  as- 
sure you.  .  .  .  Hon*^  Mamma,  My  Hon*^  Papa  has  never 
signified  to  me  his  approbation  of  my  journals,  from  whence 
I  infer,  that  he  either  never  reads  them,  or  does  not  give 
himself  the  trouble  to  remember  any  of  their  contents,  the' 
some  part  has  been  address 'd  to  him,  so,  for  the  future,  I  shall 
trouble  only  you  with  this  part  of  my  scribble.  .  .  .  My  fin- 
gers are  not  the  only  part  of  me  that  has  suffer 'd  with  sores 
within  this  fortnight,  for  I  have  had  an  ugly  great  boil  upon 
my  right  hip  &  about  a  dozen  small  ones — I  am  at  present 
swath 'd  hip  &  thigh,  as  Samson  smote  the  Philistines,  but 
my  soreness  is  near  over.  I  have  read  my  bible  to  my  aunt 
this  morning  (as  is  the  daily  custom),  &  sometimes  I  read 
other  books  to  her.  So  you  may  perceive,  I  have  the  use  of  my 
tongue  &  I  tell  her  it  is  a  good  thing  to  have  the  use  of  my 
tongue.  .  .  .  My  honor 'd  Grandma  departed  this  vale  of 
tears  1-4  before  4  o'clock  Wednesday  morning  August  21, 
1771.  Aged  74  years,  2  months  &  ten  days.  ...  I  went  to 
meeting  &  back  in  Mr.  Soley's  chaise.  Mr.  Hunt  preached. 
He  said  that  human  nature  is  as  opposite  to  God  as  darkness 
to  light.  That  our  sin  is  only  bounded  by  the  narrowness  of 
our  capacity.  His  text  was  Isa.  xli.  14,  18.  .  .  ,  Saterday  I 
din'd  at  Unkle  Storer's,  drank  tea  at  Cousin  Barrel's  was 
entertain 'd  in  the  afternoon  with  seating.  .  .  .  This  day  Jack 
Frost  bites  very  hard,  so  hard  aunt  won't  let  me  go  to  any 
school.  I  have  this  morning  made  part  of  a  coppy  with  the 
very  pen  I  have  now  in  my  hand,  writing  this  with.  ,  .  . 
Papa  I  rec'd  your  letter  dated  Jan.  11,  for  which  I  thank  you. 
Sir,  &  thank  you  greatly  for  the  money  I  received  therewith. 
...  It  has  been  a  very  sickly  time  here,  not  one  person  that 
I  know  of  but  has  been  under  heavy  colds.  .  .  .  Very  cold, 
but  this  morning  I  w^as  at  sewing  and  writing  school,  this 
afternoon  all  sewing,  for  Master  Holbrook  does  not  in  the 
winter  keep  school  of  afternoons.  .  .  .  We  had  the  greatest 
fall  of  snow  yesterday  we  have  had  this  winter.  Yet  cousin 
Sally,  miss  Polly,  &  I  rode  to  &  from  meeting  in  Mr.  Soley's 
chaise  both  forenoon  &  afternoon,  &  with  a  stove  was  very 
comfortable  there.  .  .  .  Boast  not  thyself  of  tomorrow:  for 
thou  knowest  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  Thus  king 
Solomon,  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  cautions.  Pro.  xxvn.  1. 
My  aunt  says,  this  is  a  most  necessary  lesson  to  be  learn 'd  & 
laid  up   in  the  heart.     I   am   quite  of  her  mind.  .  .  .  Mr. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  387 

Stephen  March,  at  whose  house  I  was  treated  so  kindly  last 
fall,  departed  this  life  last  week,  after  languishing  several 
months  under  a  complication  of  disorders — we  have  not  had 
perticulars,  therefore  cannot  inform  you,  whether  he  engag'd 
the  King  of  terrors  with  christian  fortitude,  or  otherwise.  .  .  . 
This  minute  I  have  receiv'd  my  queen's  night  cap  from  Miss 
Caty  Vans — we  like  it.  Aunt  says,  that  if  the  materials  it  is 
made  of  were  more  substantial  than  gauze,  it  might  serve 
occationally  to  hold  any  thing  mesur  'd  by  an  1-2  peck,  but  it 
is  just  as  it  should  be,  &  very  decent,  &  she  wishes  my  writing 
was  as  decent.  But  I  got  into  one  of  my  frolieks,  upon  sight 
of  the  Cap.  .  .  .  April  1st. — Will  you  be  offended  mamma,  if 
I  ask  you,  if  you  remember  the  flock  of  wild  Geese  that  papa 
eall'd  you  to  see  flying  over  the  Blacksmith's  shop  this  day 
three  years?  I  hope  not;  I  only  mean  to  divert  you.  .  .  . 
Yesterday  was  the  annual  Fast,  &  I  was  at  meeting  all  day. 
...  I  have  now  before  me,  hon*^  Mamma,  your  favor  dated 
Jan.  3.  I  am  glad  you  alter 'd  your  mind  when  you  at  first 
thought  not  to  write  to  me.  I  am  glad  my  brother  made  an 
essay  for  a  Post  Script  to  your  Letter.  I  must  get  him  to 
read  it  to  me,  when  he  comes  up,  for  two  reasons,  the  one  is 
because  I  may  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  his  voice,  the 
other  because  I  don't  understand  his  characters.  ...  I  went 
a  visiting  yesterday  to  Col.  Gridley's  with  my  aunt.  CoP 
brought  in  the  talk  of  Whigs  &  Tories  &  taught  me  the  dif- 
ference between  them.  .  .  ,  Visited  at  uncle  Joshua  Green's. 
I  saw  three  funerals  from  their  window,  poor  Cap"  Turner's 
was  one.  ...  I  learn 't  three  stitches  upon  net  work  to-day. 
.  .  .  Last  Wednesday  Bet  Smith  was  set  upon  the  gallows. 
She  behav'd  with  great  impudence.  .  .  .Yesterday  I  heard 
an  account  of  a  cat  of  17  years  old,  that  has  just  recovered 
of  the  meazels.  This  same  cat  it  is  said  had  the  small  pox  8 
years  ago.  .  .  .  Sept.  1. — Last  evening  after  meeting  Mrs. 
Bacon  was  brought  to  bed  of  a  fine  daughter.  But  was  very 
ill.  She  had  fits.  September  7. — ^Yesterday  afternoon  ]\Ir. 
Bacon  baptiz'd  his  daughter  by  the  name  of  Elizabeth  Lewis. 
It  is  a  pretty  looking  child.  .  .  .  Dear  Mamma,  what  name 
has  Mr.  Bent  given  his  Son?  something  like  Nehemiah,  or 
Jehosophat,  I  suppose,  it  must  be  an  odd  name  (our  head 
indeed.  Mamma.)  Aunt  says  she  hopes  it  a'nt  Baal  Gad,  & 
she  also  says  that  I  am  a  little  simpleton  for  making  my  note 
within  the  brackets  above,  because  when  I  omit  to  do  it, 
Mamma  will  think  I  have  the  help  of  somebody  else's  head 


388  The  Historical  Child 

but,  N.  B.  for  herself  she  utterly  disclames  having  either 
her  head  or  hand  concern 'd  in  this  curious  jurnal,  except 
where  the  writing  makes  it  manifest.  So  much  for  this 
matter. ' ' 

Inheritance.  "The  leadership  of  the  great  families  was 
sustained  in  New  York  and  in  the  colonies  south  of  Pennsyl- 
vania by  primogeniture — the  prerogative  of  the  eldest  son  to 
inherit  the  landed  estate  in  case  the  father  left  no  will.  Cus- 
tom followed  the  law,  and  fathers  who  willed  their  property 
usually  left  the  most  or  all  of  the  land  to  the  oldest  son,  as 
belonging  to  him  by  prescriptive  right.  This  inequitable 
practice  had  its  use  in  the  warlike  ages  of  feudalism,  wheni 
the  first  son  to  grow  up  must  take  his  father's  place  at  the 
head  of  his  troop  of  dependents;  but  in  the  American  col- 
onies it  was  only  the  result  of  that  remarkable  and  often 
stupid  bondage  to  tradition  in  which  the  Anglo-Saxon  peoples 
contrive  to  exist  and  advance.  To  primogeniture  the  aris- 
tocratic colonies  added  the  dead  hand  of  entail,  by  which  the 
land  was  sent  down  for  generations  in  the  line  of  the  oldest 
male.  Even  a  clumsy  fiction,  called  in  law  'common  recov- 
ery,' by  which  the  entail  might  be  broken  in  England,  was 
forbidden  by  statute  in  Virginia,  and  was  not  accounted  ap- 
plicable to  the  other  colonies. 

"The  pilgrims  at  Plymouth  and  the  Massachusetts  Pur- 
itans had  belonged  to  that  politico-religious  party  in  Eng- 
land which  sought  the  abolition  of  certain  old  abuses.  As 
early  as  1636  Plymouth  enacted  that  land  should  be  held 
after  'the  laudable  custom,  tenure,  and  hold  of  the  manor  of 
East  Greenwich,'  that  is,  in  an  ancient  Saxon  way  preserved 
at  the  coming  of  William  the  Conqueror  by  the  county  of 
Kent.  One  characteristic  of  this  tenure  was  that  it  divided  the 
lands  equally  among  the  sons  in  case  there  was  no  will.  Massa- 
chusetts, which  expressly  abolished  many  of  the  worst  fea- 
tures of  feudal  tenure  by  name,  gave  to  the  oldest  son  a 
double  portion  according  to  the  IMosaie  code,  but  divided  the 
rest  among  daughters  as  well  as  sons.  This  system  prevailed 
throughout  New  England.  Primogeniture  had  come  to  be 
esteemed  a  natural  right,  and  the  ^Massachusetts  leaders  felt 
obliged  more  than  once  to  defend  themselves  from  the  charge 
of  having  'denied  the  right  of  the  oldest  son.'  Pennsylvania 
took  the  same  middle  couree  of  sheltering  innovation  under 
the  law  of  IMoses  by  giving  the  oldest  son  a  double  portion. 
The  laws  of  some  of  the  colonies  made  the  land  liable,  to  a 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  389 

greater  or  less  extent,  with  personal  estate  for  the  debts  of  the 
deceasd — which  robbd  the  oldest  of  a  part  of  his  'insolent 
prerogative';  but  it  was  not  until  the  shock  of  the  Revolu- 
tion that  primogeniture  and  entail  were  swept  away,  under 
the  leadership  of  Jefferson  and  others.  The  oldest  son's  double 
portion  in  New  England  survived  the  Revolution  for  some 
years.  A  very  ancient  mode  of  inheritance  prevailed  in  some 
English  boroughs,  called  among  lawyers  'borough  English.' 
By  this  custom  the  lands  descended  to  the  youngest  son.  It 
found  no  lodgment  in  the  laws  of  the  colonies,  so  far  as  I 
know;  but  in  New  Hampshire  it  was  a  widespread  custom  to 
leave  the  homestead  to  the  youngest,  who  remained  at  home 
and  eared  for  the  old  age  of  his  parents.  This  reasonable 
form  of  the  custom  of  'ultimogeniture'  lingers  yet  in  certain 
parts  of  the  country,  as,  for  example,  in  some  of  the  northern 
counties  of  New  York. ' '  *** 

Sickness  and  Death.  There  was  great  mortality  among  the 
early  colonists  and  especially  of  children.  There  was  nothing 
in  the  way  of  sanitation,  drainage  was  not  considered  neces- 
sary, there  was  scarcely  any  disinfecting,  and  isolation  in 
contagious  diseases  was  but  poorly  carried  out.  There  were 
various  kinds  of  diseases,  such  as  colds,  fevers,  malignant  sore 
throats,  scurvy,  rickets,  fluxes,  and  many  others,  and  con- 
tagious diseases,  smallpox  having  been  very  prevalent,  almost 
as  pneumonia  now,  and  being  epidemic  six  times  in  a  cen- 
tury. 

In  the  earlier  times  the  ministers  took  up  medicine  and 
practiced  healing  as  w^ell  as  preaching,  also  compounding  and 
selling  drugs  to  the  people.  Also  other  persons  entered  into 
healing  and  selling  medicines,  as,  innkeepers,  magistrates, 
grocers,  and  schoolmasters.  There  were,  of  course,  plenty  of 
quacks  and  quack  medicines.  Even  those  who  really  prac- 
ticed medicine  were  not  very  well  prepared.  Such  a  person 
did  not  prepare  himself  by  long  and  arduous  study  in  some 
school  of  medicine,  in  fact  there  were  none  in  the  early  days, 
but  he  joined  himself  to  an  established  physician  to  learn 
the  business  from  him.  "He  ground  the  powders,  mixed  the 
pills,  rode  with  the  doctor  on  his  rounds,  held  the  basin  when 
the  patient  was  bled,  helped  to  adjust  plasters,  to  sew  wounds, 
and  ran  with  vials  of  medicine  from  one  end  of  the  town  to 
the  other.   In  the  moments  snatched  from  duties  such  as  these 

^^Eggleston,  Social  conditions  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VI, 
853. 


390  The  Historical  Child 

he  swept  out  the  office,  cleaned  the  bottles  and  jars,  wired 
skeletons,  tended  the  night-bell,  and,  when  a  feast  was  given, 
stood  in  the  hall  to  announce  the  guests. ' '  ®®  But  even  with 
this  little  training  he  became  a  power  for  good  in  his  com- 
munity for  "Sunshine  and  rain,  daylight  and  darkness,  were 
alike  to  him.  He  would  ride  ten  miles  on  the  darkest  night, 
over  the  worst  of  roads,  in  a  pelting  storm,  to  administer  a 
dose  of  calomel  to  an  old  woman,  or  to  attend  a  child  in  a 
fit.  He  was  present  at  every  birth  ;  he  attended  every  burial ; 
he  sat  with  the  minister  at  every  death-bed,  and  put  his  name 
with  the  lawyers  to  every  will. ' '  ^°  The  pay  of  the  physicians 
was  often  quite  meager  and  "in  many  communities  a  bone- 
setter  had  to  be  paid  a  salary  by  the  town  in  order  to  keep 
him,  so  few  and  slight  were  his  private  emoluments,  even  as 
a  physic-monger. ' '  ^^  There  was  the  practice  of  midwifery  in 
those  days  and  in  New  Amsterdam,  at  least,  it  was  a  much 
respected  calling. 

Among  a  people  who  feared  to  use  water  as  a  constant 
drink,  as  given  under  "Drink"  in  a  foregoing  part  of  this 
chapter,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  water  was  denied 
the  patient  tormented  with  fever,  and  clam- juice  in  small 
quantities  given  instead.  Bleeding  and  purging  were  re- 
sorted to  on  every  possible  occasion.  Salve  was  one  of  the 
leading  remedies  and  there  were  many  different  kinds  used. 
But  the  great  remedies  were  those  compounded  and  concocted 
from  the  plants  and  the  minerals  and  the  animals  that  went 
into  the  medical  preparations  of  those  times.  They  tried 
about  every  weed  and  flower  and  most  everything  else  to  find 
remedies  and  it  did  not  seem  to  matter  what  the  preparation 
or  the  mixture  was  for  they  often  went  in  as  a  jumble  regard- 
less of  the  effect  of  one  upon  another.  Earth-worms,  snails, 
toads,  fishes,  sowbugs,  wood-lice,  spiders,  vipers,  and  adders 
among  the  animal  life  were  used;  there  was  a  great  array  of 
plants,  such  as  plantain,  dandelion,  dock,  catnip,  jimson-weed, 
horehound,  mint,  garlic,  elder,  sage,  saffron,  tansy,  and  worm- 
wood ;  and  of  the  mineral  substances  were  quicksilver,  verdi- 
gris, brimstone,  alum,  and  copperas.  It  did  not  seem  to  mat- 
ter greatly  about  the  doses  as  there  was  no  close  exactness  as 
the  quantity  was  given  as  "the  bigth  of  a  walnut,"  "enough 
to  lie  on  a  pen  knifes  point,"  "the  weight  of  a  shilling," 

*'  McMaster,  History  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  X,  iJ7. 

''Ibid.,  I,   29. 

•*Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  361. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  391 

'  *  enough  to  cover  a  French  crown, "  "as  bigg  as  a  haselnut. ' ' 
"take  a  little  handful,"  "take  a  pretty  quantity  as  often  as 
you  please,"  and  other  similar  lax  directions. 

There  was  scarcel}"  an  affliction  for  which  there  were  not 
several  remedies.     Here  is  a  cure  for  insomnia : 

"Bruise  a  handful  of  Auis-seeds,  and  steep  them  in  Red 
Rose  Water,  &  make  it  up  in  little  bags,  &  binde  one  of  them 
to  each  Nostrill,  and  it  will  cause  sleep. ' '  ^^ 

For  defective  hearing  is  given  the  following: 

"To  Cure  Deafness. — Take  the  Garden  Daisie  roots  and 
make  juyce  thereof,  and  lay  the  worst  side  of  the  head  low 
upon  the  bolster  &  drop  three  or  four  drops  thereof  into  the 
better  Ear;  this  do  three  or  four  dayes  together. "^^ 

For  melancholy  the  following  is  "A  pretious  water  to  re- 
vive the  Spirits:" 

"Take  four  gallons  of  strong  Ale,  five  ounces  of  Aniseeds, 
Liquorish  scrapped  half  a  pound,  Sweet  Mints,  Angelica, 
Eccony,  Cowslip  flowers,  Sage  &  Rosemary  Flowers,  sweet 
]\Iarjoram,  of  each  three  handfuls,  Palitory  of  the  VVal  one 
handful.  After  it  is  fermented  two  or  three  dayes,  distil  it 
in  a  Limbeck,  and  in  the  water  infuse  one  handful  of  the 
flowers  aforesaid,  Cinnamon  and  Fennel-seed  of  each  half  an 
ounce.  Juniper  berries  bruised  one  dram,  red  Rosebuds, 
roasted  Apples  &  dates  sliced  and  stoned,  of  each  half  a 
pound ;  distil  it  again  and  sweeten  it  with  some  Sugarcandy, 
and  take  of  Amber-greese,  Pearl,  Red  Coral,  Hartshorn 
pounded,  and  leaf  Gold,  of  each  half  a  Dram,  put  them  in  a 
fine  Linnen  bag,  and  hang  them  by  a  thread  in  a  Glasse.  "®* 

Perhaps  next  to  the  wonderful  Snail-Water  for  rickets, 
given  on  page  497  of  this  chapter,  the  Water  of  Life  was  the 
great  remedy,  used  for  fevers  and  also  as  a  tonic  in  health: 

"Take  Balm  leaves  and  stalks,  Betony  leaves  and  flowers, 
Rosemary,  red  sage,  Taragon,  Tormentil  leaves,  Rossolis  and 
Roses,  Carnation,  Hyssop,  Thyme,  red  strings  that  grow  upon 
Savory,  red  Fennel  leaves  and  root,  red  Mints,  of  each  a 
handful ;  bruise  these  hearbs  and  put  them  in  a  great  earthen 
pot,  &  pour  on  them  enough  White  Wine  as  will  cover  them, 
stop  them  close,  and  let  them  steep  for  eight  or  nine  days; 
then  put  to  it  Cinnamon,  Ginger,  Angelica-seeds,  Cloves,  and 
Nuttmegs,  of  each  an  ounce,  a  little  Saffron,  Sugar  one  pound, 

^'Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  343. 
^Ubid.,   344. 
'*Ibid.,  340. 


392  The  Historical  Child 

Raysins  solis  stoned  one  pound,  the  loyns  and  legs  of  an  old 
Coney,  a  fleshy  running  Capon,  the  red  flesh  of  the  sinews  of 
a  leg  of  Mutton,  four  young  Chickens,  twelve  larks,  the  yolks 
of  twelve  Eggs,  a  loaf  of  White-bread  cut  in  sops,  and  two  or 
three  ounces  of  Mithradate  or  Treacle,  &  as  much  Muscadine 
as  will  cover  them  all.  Distil  al  with  a  moderate  fire,  and 
keep  the  first  and  second  waters  by  themselves;  and  when 
there  comes  no  more  by  distilling  put  more  Wine  into  the 
pot  upon  the  same  stuffe  and  distil  it  again,  and  you  shal 
have  another  good  water.  This  water  strengtheneth  the 
Spirit,  Brain,  Heart,  Liver,  and  Stomack.  Take  when  need 
is  by  itself,  or  with  Ale,  Beer,  or  Wine  mingled  with 
Sugar,  "s^ 

Small-pox  was  such  a  dreadful  scourge  to  the  colonists, 
causing  death,  disfigurement,  and  misfortune,  that  after  in- 
oculation was  introduced  and  accepted  as  reliable,  small-pox 
hospitals  arose  and  it  became  quite  the  fashion  for  entire 
families  and  even  parties  made  up  of  friends  and  acquain- 
tances to  resort  to  them  together  and  be  inoculated  all  at  the 
same  time,  these  parties  being  called  classes.  Sometimes 
these  gatherings  were  held  at  private  homes  and  special  invi- 
tations were  sent  out  to  friends.  ''These  brave  classes  took 
their  various  purifying  and  sudorific  medicines  in  cheerful 
concert,  were  'grafted'  together,  'broke  out'  together,  were 
feverish  together,  sweat  together,  scaled  off  together,  and 
convalesced  together.  Not  a  very  prepossessing  conjoining 
medium  would  inoculation  appear  to  have  been,  but  many  a 
pretty  and  sentimental  love  affair  sprang  up  between  mu- 
tually 'pock-fretten'  New  Englanders."  ®® 

The  small-pox  hospitals  were  of  various  kinds  and  prices, 
ranging  as  low  as  three  dollars  per  week  for  lodging,  food, 
medicine,  care,  and  inoculation.  The  following  advertisement 
of  one  such  hospital  appeared  in  the  Connecticut  Courant  of 
November  30,  1767: 

"Dr.  Uriah  Rogers,  Jr.,  of  Norwalk  County  of  Fairfield 
takes  this  method  to  acquaint  the  Publick  &  particularly  such 
as  are  desirous  of  taking  the  Small  Pox  by  way  of  Inocula- 
tion, that  having  had  Considerable  Experience  in  that  Branch 
of  Practice  and  carried  on  the  same  the  last  season  with  great 
Success;  has  lately  erected  a  convenient  Hospital  for  that 
purpose  just  within  the  Jurisdiction  Line  of  the  Province  of 

^'Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  337. 
"'Ibid.,  353. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  393 

New  York  about  nine  miles  distant  from  N,  Y.  Harbour, 
where  he  intends  to  carry  said  Branch  of  Practice  from  the 
first  of  October  next  to  the  first  of  May  next.  And  that  all 
such  as  are  disposed  to  favour  him  with  their  Custom  may  de- 
pend upon  being  well  provided  with  all  necessary  accommoda- 
tions, Provisions  &  the  best  Attendance  at  the  moderate  Ex- 
pense of  Four  Pounds  Lawful  Money  to  Each  Patient.  That 
after  the  first  Sett  or  Class  he  purposes  to  give  no  Occasion  for 
waiting  to  go  in  Particular  setts  but  to  admit  Parties  singly, 
just  as  it  suits  them.  As  he  has  another  Good  House  pro- 
vided near  Said  Hospital  where  his  family  are  to  live,  and 
where  all  that  come  after  the  first  Sett  that  go  into  the  Hos- 
pital are  to  remain  with  his  Family  until  they  are  sufficiently 
Prepared  &  Inoculated  &  Until  it  is  apparent  that  they  have 
taken  the  infection. ' '  ^^ 

Upon  a  death  in  a  town  in  New  York  state  in  colonial  times, 
notice  was  given  by  the  ringing  or  tolling  of  the  church-bell 
and  the  funeral  inviter  Avas  sent  out,  a  man  paid  for  his 
services,  who  was  dressed  in  gloomy  black  with  long  streamers 
of  crape  hanging  from  his  hat.  The  ones  to  be  invited  were 
visited  by  him  and  notified  of  the  day  and  hour  of  the  funeral. 
The  funeral-inviter  usually  combined  in  himself  along  with 
this  office  those  of  schoolmaster,  bell-ringer,  chorister,  and 
grave-digger.  Later  the  funeral-inviter  was  made  a  public 
officer  and  the  fees  were  regulated  by  law.  The  corpse  while 
lying  at  the  home  was  watched  over  through  the  night  by 
intimate  friends  of  the  family  and  these  watchers  were  well 
supplied  with  drinks  and  cakes  and  tobacco  and  pipes.  The 
body  lay  in  state  in  a  large  room  which  was  rarely  used  for 
other  occasions  than  this. 

There  were  rare  occurrences  of  night-burials  in  the  colonies, 
confined  to  people  belonging  to  the  English  Church,  the 
funeral  procession  and  burial  taking  place  by  torch-light.  In 
the  earlier  times  in  New  England  there  were  no  religious 
services  of  any  kind  at  a  funeral,  neither  at  the  house  nor  at 
the  grave,  but  later  there  were  prayers  at  the  house  and  a 
short  speech  at  the  grave,  and  then  funeral  sermons  began  to 
be  preached  but  not  at  the  time  of  the  burial.  In  New  York 
there  were  funeral  services  but  always  held  at  the  home.  The 
coffin  was  made  of  well-seasoned  boards  and  covered  with  a 
pall  of  fringed  black  cloth,  which  was  replaced  with  a  r/hite 
sheet  where  the  death  took  place  in  childbirth.    As  a  mark  of 

"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  353. 


394  The  Historical  Child 

mourning,  in  some  places  all  ornaments  and  mirrors  and 
pictures  were  covered  with  cloths  from  the  time  of  death  till 
after  the  funeral  and  even  sometimes  the  window-shutters 
at  the  front  of  the  house  were  tied  together  with  black  cloth 
and  kept  closed  for  a  year.  There  were  usually  two  sets  of 
pall-bearers,  one  set  of  strong  young  men  who  bore  the  coffin 
on  a  bier  and  another  set  of  older  men  of  dignity,  who 
walked  alongside  the  bearers  and  held  the  corners  of  the  pall. 
Much  etiquette  was  displayed  in  arranging  the  order  of  the 
procession  to  the  grave,  each  mourner  being  carefully  as- 
signed to  his  place,  the  widow  usually  being  placed  with  a 
magistrate  or  some  other  person  of  dignity. 

Funerals  became  to  be  very  expensive  affairs  and  this 
brought  about  legislative  enactments  trjang  to  regulate  and 
curtail  the  expenses.  When  the  cities  began  to  grow  and 
wealth  to  increase  much  pomp  and  dignity  were  used  in  the 
burial  of  men  and  women  of  high  station,  trumpets  and 
drums  being  used  and  volleys  fired  over  the  grave — even  of 
a  woman.  In  properly  putting  away  Governor  Winthrop, 
the  chief  founder  of  INIassachusetts,  a  barrel  and  a  half  of 
powder  was  consumed.  In  the  middle  and  southern  colonies, 
the  funeral  became  to  be  a  time  of  feasting  and  drinking.  At 
a  single  funeral  there  might  have  been  several  barrels  of  wine 
and  several  hogsheads  of  beer  consumed,  beside  great  quan- 
tities of  food  eaten  and  tobacco  used.  Sometimes  in  Penn- 
sylvania as  many  as  five  hundred  guests  at  a  funeral  were 
served  with  punch  and  cake.  At  a  funeral  in  Virginia  the 
cost  of  the  wine  used  amounted  to  more  than  four  thousand 
pounds  of  tobacco.  New  England  was  not  so  far  behind,  as 
bills  are  found  for  much  baked  meats,  rum,  cider,  whiskey, 
lemons,  sugar,  spices,  and  cakes  used  at  funerals. 

It  was  a  custom  in  colonial  times  for  the  family  of  the  de- 
ceased to  give  certain  kinds  of  gifts  to  those  who  were  invited 
to  the  funeral.  Books  were  among  the  gifts,  being  serious 
books  suitable  as  a  memorial  of  the  occasion,  but  probably 
book  gifts  occurred  only  in  New  England.  Scarfs,  often  of 
silk,  were  among  the  presents  and  also  handkerchief,  the 
scarfs  sometimes  being  worn  quite  awhile  after  the  funeral 
as  a  token  of  mourning,  thereby  showing  respect  for  the  dead. 
Sometimes  black  ribbons  were  given,  to  be  worn  on  the  hat  as 
long  streamers.  Spoons  also  were  given  in  New  York,  called 
monkey-spoons,  being  made  of  silver  with  the  figure  or  head 
of  an  ape  on  the  handle.     The  two  most  common  and  most 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  395 

important  gifts  were  gloves  and  rings.  The  gloves  were  white 
or  black  or  purple  and  were  of  different  quality,  given  ac- 
cording to  rank  or  closeness  of  blood  to  the  deceased.  Hun- 
dreds of  these  gloves  were  often  given  out  at  a  single  funeral, 
at  one  funeral  over  a  thousand  were  given  and  still  at  another 
three  thousand  pairs.  A  Boston  clergyman  kept  account  of 
the  number  he  had  received  and  in  thirty-two  years  he  had 
been  given  two  thousand,  nine  hundred,  and  forty  pairs  of 
mourning  gloves.  In  1738  at  a  funeral  in  Boston  over  two 
hundred  rings  were  given  away.  A  judge  received  57  mourn- 
ing rings  between  1687-1725,  a  minister  had  a  mugful,  and  a 
physician  who  died  in  1758  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  left  a 
quart  tankard  full  of  the  rings.  "These  mourning  rings 
were  of  gold,  usually  enameled  in  black,  or  black  and  white. 
They  were  frequently  decorated  with  a  death's-head,  or  with 
a  coffin  with  a  full-length  skeleton  lying  in  it,  or  with  a 
winged  skull.  Sometimes  they  held  a  framed  lock  of  hair  of 
the  deceased  friend.  Sometimes  the  ring  was  shaped  like  a 
serpent  with  his  tail  in  his  mouth.  Many  bore  a  posy.""* 
These  gloves  and  rings  usually  were  sold.  The  Boston  min- 
ister noted  above  received  between  six  and  seven  hundred  dol- 
lars through  the  sale  of  the  gloves  he  had  received  at  funerals 
and  likewise  quite  a  good  sum  from  the  sale  of  the  funeral 
rings  he  had  received. 

There  finally  came  a  reaction  against  such  great  expense  at 
funerals  and  the  giving  of  gifts  so  that  by  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  funerals  were  being  held  at  which  there 
was  little  or  no  feasting  and  drinking  and  but  little  mourning 
worn,  and  even  some  funerals  were  held  at  which  no  mourning 
at  all  had  been  worn.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  century  laws 
arose  wherein  fines  were  to  be  imposed  on  any  person  who 
gave  scarfs,  gloves,  rings,  wine,  or  rum  at  a  funeral,  or  who 
bought  any  new  mourning  apparel  except  crape  for  an  arm- 
band if  a  man  or  a  black  bonnet,  fan,  gloves,  and  ribbon  if  a 
woman.  But  such  laws  were  difficult  of  being  rigidly  en- 
forced and  so,  perhaps,  had  but  little  effect,  public  opinion 
and  custom  after  all  causing  whatever  changes  that  may  have 
come  about. 

It  was  a  custom  to  fasten  to  the  bier  or  platform  supporting 
the  coffin  verses  and  sentences  laudatory  to  the  deceased  and 
such  often  were  printed  after  the  funeral  and  distributed 
among  the  relatives  and  friends.    These  prints  were  not  only 

•'Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  376. 


396  The  Historical  Child 

deeply  bordered  with  black  but  "they  were  often  decorated 
gruesomely  with  skull  and  cross-bones,  scythes,  coffins,  and 
hour-glasses,  all-seeing  eyes  with  rakish  squints,  bow-legged 
skeletons,  and  miserable  little  rosetted  winding-sheets. ' '  ^' 
When  newspapers  were  established  in  the  colonies  it  became 
the  practice  to  insert  long  and  fulsome  death-notices.  Per- 
haps the  greatest  display  in  writing  about  the  dead  was  that 
of  the  epitaph.  They  were  of  all  kinds  and  quality  many 
quite  amusing  in  both  rhyme  and  thought,  and  yet  there  were 
some  epitaphs  of  beauty  and  sentiment  that  make  us  glad  for 
the  efforts.    The  following  is  truly  such  a  one : 

"I  came  in  the  morning — it  was  Spring 
And    I    smiled. 

I  walked  out  at  noon — it  was  Summer 

And  I  was  glad. 

I  sat  me  down  at  even — it  was  Autumn 
And  I  was  sad. 

I  laid  me  down  at  night — it  waa  Winter 

And  I  slept.""" 

In  New  York  interment  was  made  under  the  church  and 
by  special  payment  burial  could  be  made  under  the  very  seat 
the  deceased  was  wont  to  occupy  during  life  while  upon  at- 
tendance at  church.  In  New  England  the  burial  was  in  the 
churchj-ard  or  it  might,  too,  be  made  under  the  church  and 
this  was  true  in  the  large  places  and  of  dignitaries.  In  the 
smaller  places  the  graveyard  might  have  been  located  in  a 
barren  j)asture  or  on  an  out-of-the-way  hillside.  In  the  coun- 
try often  each  family  had  its  own  burying-place,  sometimes 
in  a  corner  of  the  home  farm  and  again  at  the  foot  of  the 
garden  or  orchard.  The  early  gravestones  were  quite  similar 
in  design.  Freestone  was  used  for  these  and  rarely  sandstone 
on  account  of  its  being  readily  disintegrated  by  frosts  and 
storms.  The  best  stone  was  a  flinty  slate-stone  from  North 
Wales,  which  was  imported  from  England  ready  carved,  and 
these  stones  also  were  alike,  having  at  the  top  a  winged 
cherub's  head.  This  remained  the  only  emblem  on  stones  till 
near  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  when  there  began 
to  be  used  the  weeping  willow  and  urn. 

The  Illness  of  Children.  As  was  given  under  Infancy,  the 
baby  had  to  be  baptized  in  the  meeting-house  on  the  first  Sun- 
day following  its  birth,  no  matter  what  the  conditions  of  the 

"Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  365. 

^'^Ibid.,  385. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  397 

weather.  This  was  surely  as  severe  a  test  of  the  child's  en- 
durance as  that  ever  devised  by  any  people,  not  excepting 
the  Spartans,  Those  that  survived  this  baptism  had  to 
undergo  many  malignant  diseases,  so  that  the  mortally  among 
children  was  frightful  and  there  was  rarely  if  ever  found  a 
family  that  could  not  count  a  number  of  deaths  of  the  chil- 
dren, often  more  died  than  reached  maturity.  The  diseases 
and  climatic  conditions  were  severe  enough  on  the  children 
and  the  lack  of  sanitary  caution  added  many  children  to  the 
death  list,  yet  these  were  not  all  for  the  poor  things  had  tried 
out  on  them  all  kinds  of  nostrums  and  no  doubt  many  died 
from  the  dosings. 

Among  the  medicines  for  children  was  Venice  treacle,  made 
of  vipers,  white  wine,  opium,  spices,  licorice,  red  roses,  tops 
of  germander,  and  St.  John's-wort,  with  about  twenty  other 
herbs,  juice  of  rough  sloes,  and  mixed  with  honey.  Another 
medicine  for  children  contained  forty-two  ingredients.  As 
was  given  in  another  part  of  this  chapter,  rickets  was  one 
of  the  greatest  afflictions  of  children  and  as  was  noted,  Snail 
Water  was  one  of  the  great  remedies,  for  which  see  page  377. 
Here  is  another  remedy  for  rickets,  and  the  child  that  sur- 
vived both  the  rickets  and  this  treatment  surely  deserved  to 
live : 

"In  ye  Kickets  the  best  Corrective  I  have  ever  found  is  a 
Syrup  made  of  Black  Cherrys.  Thus.  Take  of  Cherrys 
(dry'd  ones  are  as  good  as  any)  &  put  them  into  a  vessel 
with  water.  Set  ye  vessel  near  ye  fire  and  let  ye  water  be 
Scalding  hot.  Then  take  ye  Cherrys  into  a  thin  Cloth  and 
squeeze  them  into  ye  Vessell,  &  sweeten  ye  Liquor  with 
Melosses.  Give  2  spoonfuls  of  this  2  or  3  times  a  day.  If 
you  Dip  your  Child,  Do  it  in  this  manner :  viz :  naked,  in  ye 
morning,  head  foremost  in  Cold  Water,  don't  dress  it  Im- 
mediately, but  let  it  be  made  warm  in  ye  Cradle  &  sweat  at 
least  half  an  Hour  moderately.  Do  this  3  mornings  going 
&  if  one  or  both  feet  are  Cold  while  other  Parts  sweat  (which 
is  sometimes  ye  Case)  Let  a  little  blood  be  taken  out  of  ye 
feet  ye  2nd  Morning  and  yt  will  cause  them  to  sweat  after- 
wards. Before  ye  dips  of  ye  Child  give  it  some  Snakeroot  and 
Saffern  Steep 'd  in  Eum  &  Water,  give  this  Immediately  be- 
fore Dipping  and  after  you  have  dipt  ye  Child  3  Mornings 
Give  it  several  times  a  Day  ye  following  Syrup  made  of  Corn- 
fry,  Hartshorn,  Red  Roses,  Hogbrake  roots,  knot-grass,  petty- 
moral  roots,  sweeten  ye  Syrup  v/ith  Melosses.    Physicians  are 


398  The  Historical  Child 

generally  fearful  about  diping  when  ye  Fever  is  hard,  but 
oftentimes  all  attemps  to  lower  it  without  diping  are  vain. 
Experience  has  taught  me  that  these  fears  are  groundless, 
yt  many  have  about  diping  in  Rickety  Fevers;  I  have  found 
in  a  multitude  of  Instances  of  diping  is  most  effectual  means 
to  break  a  Rickety  Fever.  These  Directions  are  agreeable  to 
what  I  have  practiced  for  many  years.  ""^ 

At  the  funeral  of  a  boy  there  would  sometimes  be  boys  of 
about  the  same  age  as  the  deceased  to  act  as  nominal  pall- 
bearers to  walk  alongside  the  coffin  borne  by  stronger  young 
men.  When  a  young  child  or  girl  was  buried,  sometimes  the 
pall-bearci's  were  girls,  all  dressed  in  white  and  wearing  long 
white  veils. 

Amusements.  Many  of  the  amusements  of  the  old  coun- 
try were  brought  into  use  by  the  colonists  and  there  were 
some  that  grew  up  in  the  surroundings  of  the  new  country. 
There  was  a  wide  distinction  between  the  New  England 
colonies  and  the  other  colonies  in  regard  to  such,  as  the  Puri- 
tans were  much  more  sober  in  their  bearing  and  really  often 
counted  amusements  as  things  to  be  avoided  and  even  ungodly 
and  those  of  a  hilarious  nature  were  indulged  in  only  by  a 
few  of  the  less  staid  and  solid  citizens. 

The  really  only  regular  diversion  of  the  early  colonists  in 
New  England  was  the  lecture-day,  which  usually  occurred 
weekly  on  Thursdays.  These  days  were  the  occasion  of  a 
lecture,  usually  religious,  by  the  minister,  and  also  there  were 
other  doings,  as,  burning  seditious  books,  publishing  notices 
of  marriages,  the  holdng  of  electons,  the  whipping  of  trans- 
gressors at  the  whipping-post,  the  placing  of  offenders  in  the 
stocks,  bilboes,  cage,  or  pillory,  and  criminals,  too,  were 
hanged  on  these  days.  Another  great  day  in  the  colonies  was 
muster-day  when  the  militia  came  together  for  drill.  This 
became  a  time  of  merrj^-making  as  well  as  of  military  drilling 
and  amusements  of  various  kinds  were  entered  into.  Another 
time  of  gathering  was  at  the  fairs  held  in  some  of  the  middle 
and  southern  colonies,  at  which  were  foot-races,  sack-races, 
wrestling,  climbing  greased  poles,  catching  greased  pigs,  and 
the  like. 

As  the  cities  grew,  the  people  would  strive  to  get  out  for  a 
time  in  the  country,  so  that  inns  and  gardens  grew  up  in  the 
suburbs  and  were  much  frequented.  These  gardens  were 
sometimes  small  and  of  a  private  nature  and  again  they  were 

*"Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  8. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  399 

large  and  not  only  furnished  the  guests  with  food  and  drink 
but  also  with  concerts  and  other  entertainments.  Clubs  were 
quite  numerous  in  those  days,  usuall}^  consisting  of  a  number 
of  men  who  had  a  weekly  meeting  at  a  tavern.  These  clubs 
often  consisted  of  people  of  the  same  nationality,  as,  the  Irish 
Club,  the  French  Club,  and  so  on.  They  had  their  patron 
saints  on  whose  birthdays  they  would  hold  great  festivals,  the 
English  having  St.  George,  the  Welsh  St.  David,  the  Irish 
St.  Patrick,  and  the  young  Americans  of  New  York,  not  to 
be  outdone,  "canonized,  by  their  own  authority.  King  Tam- 
many, a  Delaware  chief  long  dead,  and  celebrated  his  feast 
on  the  old  English  May-day,  which  they  ushered  in  with  bell- 
ringings,  as  though  it  were  a  veritable  saint 's  day. ' '  ^°^ 
There  grew  up  in  the  cities  gatherings  of  men  and  women, 
called  "Assemblies,"  for  the  purpose  of  dancing,  card-play- 
ing, and  other  social  amusements.  These  were  brilliant  af- 
fairs, wherein  both  men  and  women  were  richly  dressed,  and 
where  there  was  eating  and  drinking,  great  quantities  of  wine 
often  being  consumed. 

The  colonists  were  very  fond  of  dancing.  "From  the  most 
eastern  forest  settlements  of  Maine  to  the  southern  frontier 
of  Georgia,  people  in  town,  village,  and  country  were  every- 
where indefatigably  fond  of  dancing  .  .  .  the  launching 
of  a  ship,  the  raising  of  a  house,  the  assembling  of  a  county 
curt,  and  the  ordination  of  a  minister  were  good  occasions 
for  dancing. ' '  ^'^^  They  usually  danced  to  the  tune  of  a  fiddle 
but  if  there  was  no  fiddle  that  would  not  keep  them  from  it 
as  they  would  dance  to  some  one's  humming  the  tune.  Danc- 
ing-schools arose  and  although  they  were  forbidden  in  New 
England  the  young  people  learned  to  dance  anyway.  Dances 
sometimes  began  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  and  lasted  till 
three  in  the  morning.  "President  AA^ashington  and  Mrs.  Gen- 
eral Greene  'danced  upwards  of  three  hours  without  once  sit- 
ting down,'  and  General  Greene  called  this  diversion  of  the 
august  Father  of  His  Country,  'a  pretty  little  frisk.'""* 
This  may  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact  that  the  lady  was 
usually  assigned  to  her  partner  for  the  entire  evening,  with 
whom  she  did  the  greater  part  of  her  dancing. 

Music  was  loved  by  the  colonists  throughout  the  entire  co- 
lonial period.    Yet  in  early  New  England  there  was  really 

waEggleston,  Social  life  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VIII,  401. 

"^ Ibid. 

*'**Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  241. 


400  The  Historical  Child 

little  that  could  properly  be  called  music,  for  in  the  church 
there  was  only  the  droning  out  of  the  Psalms  and  often  these 
were  not  sung  by  all  the  congregation  in  the  same  tune  at  the 
same  time,  making  a  most  inharmonious  medley.  The  first 
music-book  appeared  in  1712.  The  early  instruments  for  ac- 
companying the  voice  were  the  spinet  and  the  harpsichord,  the 
first  organ  in  Boston  was  about  1711. 

Mrs.  Earle  states  that  though  after  1760  concerts  were  fi'e- 
quent  yet  the  earliest  advertisement  she  had  found  of  a  con- 
cert was  in  the  New  England  Weekly  Journal  of  December 
15,  1732: 

' '  This  is  to  inform  the  Publick  That  there  will  be  a  Consort 
of  Music  Perform 'd  by  Sundry  Instruments  at  the  Court 
Room  in  Wings  Lane  near  the  Town  Dock  on  the  28th  of  this 
Instant  December;  Tickets  will  be  deliver 'd  at  the  Place  of 
Performance  at  Five  Shillings  each  Ticket.  N.  B.  No  Per- 
son will  be  admitted  after  Six."  ^^^ 

Because  of  the  need  of  better  music,  there  arose  the  "sing- 
ing-school," a  most  happy  form  of  amusement  for  the  young 
people  of  the  colonial  days  in  New  England  where  there  was 
often  but  little  chance  for  such.  The  singing-school  teacher 
was  a  great  man  and  when  he  made  his  appearance  that  other 
notable,  the  village  school-master,  had  to  take  a  back-seat  for 
the  time  being,  for  this  man  was  a  "professional,"  who  was 
to  be  paid  and  who  paid  his  own  bills  and  did  not  have  to 
"board  round."  The  singing-school  gave  agreeable  occasion 
for  the  young  people  to  spend  a  few  of  the  long  winter  even- 
ings together  and  for  sleighing-parties  to  be  made  up  to  go  to 
them,  and  where  every  girl,  no  matter  how  she  got  there,  was 
sure  of  an  escort  home. 

Card-playing  and  gambling  were  almost  universal.  Ladies 
gambled  as  well  as  gentlemen.  Stakes  often  were  high,  some- 
times large  estates  were  lost  in  a  short  time  by  reckless  betting 
at  cards.  ' '  The  ladies  of  New  York  were  considered  virtuous 
above  many  others  of  their  sex  because  of  the  moderation  of 
their  gambling."  ^°^  Although  the  New  Englanders  were  very 
much  opposed  to  cards  and  tried  to  stop  their  sale  and  use, 
yet  they  highly  approved  another  fonn  of  gambling,  the  lot- 
tery. For  a  half  century  and  longer  the  lottery  was  the  great- 
est amusement  of  New  England,  it  was  sanctioned  and  parti- 
cipated in  by  all,  the  most  esteemed  citizens  bought  and  sold 

*"'  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  250. 

J08  Eggleston,  Social  life  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VIII,  402. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  401 

tickets,  and  it  was  used  as  a  scheme  for  raising  funds  for  every 
purpose — colleg'es  increased  their  endowments,  towns  and 
states  raised  money  to  pay  their  debts,  and  churches  had  lot- 
teries ' '  for  promoting  public  worship  and  the  advancement  of 
religion."  Not  only  were  lotteries  used  to  raise  funds  for 
public  affairs  but  there  were  also  private  lotteries  in  great 
number  and  all  kinds  of  prizes  given,  among  such  being  furni- 
ture, clothing,  real  estate,  jewelry,  and  books.  "New  England 
clergymen  seemed  specially  to  delight  in  this  gambling  excite- 
ment.""^ 

As  there  was  an  abundance  of  wild  game  and  fish,  hunting 
and  fishing  were  great  sports  among  the  colonists. 

Deer  were  hunted  in  various  ways.  Sometimes  the  hunter, 
as  learned  from  the  Indians,  covered  himself  in  a  deer  skin 
and  was  thus  enabled  to  get  near  the  deer  to  shoot  them; 
again  a  tree  w^as  felled  and  the  hunter  hid  in  the  branches  and 
shot  the  deer  while  browsing  upon  the  twigs ;  at  night  the  deer 
was  approached  by  some  one  bearing  a  lighted  torch  and  the 
hunter  would  shoot  the  dazed  animal  looking  into  the  light,  or 
the  hunter  would  have  a  blazing  fire  in  his  canoe  and  float 
toward  the  deer  and  shoot  it ;  also  deer  were  run  dow^i  by 
dogs  and  men  on  horseback.  AA^olves  were  caught  on  mackerel 
hooks  bound  together  in  a  bunch  and  dipped  in  tallow ;  they 
were  caught  in  iron  traps;  and  they  were  caught  in  pits  in 
the  earth  hidden  by  light  coverings  to  let  them  fall  through. 
Bears  were  caught  in  traps  and  pits  and  also  hunted  with 
dogs  trained  for  the  purpose.  There  was  fox-chasing  on  horse- 
back; sometimes  on  a  moonlight  night  a  sledge-load  of  cod- 
fish heads  was  left  by  a  fence  or  wall  where  the  moon  shone 
brightly  on  it,  and  the  foxes  were  shot  as  they  came  up  to  get 
the  heads  of  tlie  fishes.  Squirrels  were  killed  for  sport  and 
also  because  they  consumed  so  much  of  the  grain ;  sometimes 
two  groups  of  hunters  matched  one  another  and  then  counted 
squirrel-scalps  at  night  to  see  which  party  had  killed  the  most 
squirrels  during  the  day.  Wild  turkeys  were  trapped  and 
killed  with  guns;  sometimes  fires  would  be  built  near  their 
roosting-places  and  then  they  could  be  shot  while  bewildered 
from  the  light.  "Wild  pigeons  were  taken  in  nets,  by  shooting 
with  guns,  and  while  on  their  roosts  at  night,  they  were 
knocked  off  with  clubs,  being  so  thickly  together  and  thus 
unable  to  get  away.  Also  other  wild  game  was  hunted,  as, 
geese,  ducks,  grouse,  partridges,  and  others. 

*"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  255. 


402  The  Historical  Child 

One  way  of  taking  wild  game  was  by  a  *  *  drive. ' '  A  ring  of 
men  would  encircle  a  large  tract  of  country  and  draw  inward 
toward  a  center,  and  thus  drive  in  deer,  bears,  wolves,  tur- 
keys, and  other  game,  and  as  the  animals  made  effort  to  escape 
the  men  would  shoot  them.  Another  way  of  hunting  was  by 
a  fire-ring.  A  body  of  men  would  encircle  a  tract  of  land 
and  then  set  fire  to  the  leaves,  which  would  burn  in  toward 
the  center  and  then  the  men  would  shoot  the  animals  as  they 
would  try  to  break  through  the  fire-ring  and  would  thus  be 
brought  to  view. 

Fishing  was  carried  on  in  various  ways.  One  of  the  most 
common  ways  was  with  nets,  which  were  of  various  kinds. 
"Weirs  were  also  used,  probably  learned  from  the  Indians  and 
improved  upon  by  the  colonists.  Long  lines  were  staked  out 
in  a  river  and  on  it  were  placed  short  lines  with  hooks  for 
catching  the  fish.  Fish  were  speared  with  a  harping-iron  or 
gig.  AVhere  the  fish  were  very  plentiful  men  could  ride  into 
the  water  at  night  and  spear  the  fish  with  gigs  by  torch  light. 
They  also  went  to  the  falls  of  the  rivers  and  caught  the  shad 
and  salmon  as  they  were  ascending  the  river  to  spawn.  Fish 
also  were  caught  with  hook  and  line,  but  in  the  earlier  times 
when  they  were  so  abundant  this  was  considered  too  slow  a 
process. 

In  winter  the  favorite  amusement  in  New  York  was  riding 
in  sleighs  and  this  was  true  also  in  Philadelphia.  In  the 
bitter  climate  of  New  England  sleighing  as  a  pastime  was  not 
entered  into  by  the  colonists  in  the  early  days.  The  Dutch 
in  New  York  also  indulged  a  great  deal  in  skating,  the  ponds, 
marshes,  and  watered  meadows  on  Manhattan  Island  offering 
plenty  of  ice  for  the  sport.  Sometimes  provisions  were  carried 
into  New  York  on  the  back  of  marketmen  on  skates. 

In  a  new  country  full  of  wild  animals  and  wild  men,  it  be- 
comes necessary  for  the  settler  to  learn  to  use  the  gun  as  a 
means  of  livelihood  and  of  defense  and  so  the  settlers  became 
fine  marksmen.  Because  of  their  learning  to  shoot  well  there 
arose  contests  in  marksmanship.  This  consisted  often  in 
shooting  at  a  mark  for  a  prize,  a  silk  handkerchief  or  such 
like.  Also  there  were  matches  where  a  turkey  was  put  up  as 
a  prize  to  be  shot  at,  it  might  be  a  holiday  was  spent  in  a 
shooting-match.  Sometimes  a  beef  was  divided  among  com- 
petitors, when  a  target  would  be  put  up  and  the  one  hitting 
the  center  or  nearest  to  the  center  would  receive  the  best  cut 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  403 

of  the  beef  and  it  would  thus  be  distributed  according  to  the 
shots  ranging  from  the  center. 

A  leading  amusement  of  the  colonists  was  horse-racing. 
It  is  possible  that  horse-racing  began  in  Virginia  as  soon  as 
-there  were  horses  in  the  colony  to  race.  In  1665  the  Governor 
of  New  York  announced  a  horse-race  to  encourage  the  better- 
ing of  the  breed  of  horses.  The  sport  came  late  into  New 
England  and  yet  there  were  races  and  notices  of  challenges  to 
race  horses.  The  main  centers  of  horse-racing  were  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York,  Annapolis,  Williamsburg,  and  Charles- 
ton, and,  later,  at  Philadelphia,  also.  There  were  two  kinds 
of  races.  The  first  was  a  great,  formal  affair,  drawing  a  large 
crowd,  where  the  horses  ran  on  a  circular  mile  track,  four 
rounds  to  a  heat,  best  two  out  of  three  to  win.  This  race 
required  great  endurance  of  the  horses.  The  second  kind  of 
race  was  a  more  informal  affair,  where  the  race  was  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  for  which  race  horses  were  bred  to  run  for 
a  short  distance  at  a  very  high  rate  of  speed.  Before  the  ex- 
piration of  the  colonial  period,  there,  too,  arose  the  special 
forms  of  the  trotting-match  and  the  pacing-match. 

Cock-fighting  was  another  sport  of  the  colonists,  which  was 
most  popular  in  New  York  and  the  colonies  south  of  it,  its 
chief  centers  being  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  Caro- 
lina. Men  would  go  fifty  miles  to  see  a  main,  and  choice 
gamecocks  were  imported  from  England.  There  was,  too, 
bull-baiting  and  sometimes  wolves  and  bears  were  captured 
alive  and  used  for  baiting  with  dogs.  Sometimes  a  live  wolf 
was  tied  to  a  horse's  tail  and  dragged  to  death. 

There  were  contests  in  running,  leaping,  wrestling,  cudgel- 
ing, stool-ball,  nine-pins,  quoits,  fencing,  and  back-sword  or 
single-stick. 

The  people  of  the  colonies  did  not  have  great  opportunities 
for  amusement  in  the  way  of  shows  and  so  they  turned  readily 
to  any  kind  of  exhibit  and  it  did  not  require  much  display 
to  attract  them.  This  being  true,  there  came  to  be  displays 
of  various  kinds  in  plenty. 

There  were  sleight-of-hand  performances,  acrobatic  and 
contortionistic  displays,  tight  and  slack  rope  performances, 
and  a  kind  of  sword-dancing.  Museums  were  founded  in 
which  there  were  shown  wax  figures  and  other  curiosities ;  a 
mermaid  was  put  on  display;  there  were  exhibits  at  various 
times  of  a  solar  microscope,  camera  obscuras,  moving  pictures 


404  The  Historical  Child 

showing  windmills  and  water-mills  in  motion  and  ships  sail- 
ing, electrical  machines,  a  musical  clock,  puppets  representing 
Joseph's  dream,  and  prospects  of  London  and  of  royal 
palaces.  Among  animals  displayed,  there  were  a  lion  drawn 
about  on  a  cart  by  four  oxen,  a  wonderful  creature  called  a 
Sea  Lion,  a  leopard  "strongly  chayned,"  a  moose,  a  white  sea 
bear,  a  camel,  a  cassowary  ' '  five  feet  high  that  swallows  stones 
as  large  as  an  egg,^^  and  even  a  rabbit  was  advertised  among 
"curious  wild  beasts."  There  was  a  big  hog  on  display  for 
four  pence  a  person,  and  a  cat  with  ' '  one  head,  eight  legs,  and 
two  tails." 

The  most  remarkable  animal  of  all  exhibited  must  have  been 
the  one  described  in  an  advertisement  in  the  Boston  Gazette 
of  April  20,  1741 : 

"To  be  seen  at  the  Greyhound  Tavern  in  Roxbury  a  wild 
creature  which  was  caught  in  the  woods  about  80  miles  to  the 
"Westward  of  this  place  called  a  Cattamount.  It  has  a  tail 
like  a  Lyon,  its  legs  are  like  Bears,  its  Claws  like  an  Eagle, 
its  Eyes  like  a  Tyger.  He  is  exceedingly  ravenous  and  de- 
vours all  sorts  of  Creatures  that  he  can  come  near.  Its 
agility  is  surprising.  It  will  leap  30  feet  at  one  jump  not- 
withstanding it  is  but  3  months  old.  Whoever  wishes  to  see 
this  creature  may  come  to  the  place  aforesaid  paying  one  shil- 
ling each  shall  be  welcome  for  their  money."  ^"^ 

"Salem  had  the  pleasure  of  viewing  a  'Sapient  Dog'  who 
could  light  lamps,  spell,  read  print  or  writing,  tell  the  time 
of  day,  or  day  of  the  month.  He  could  distinguish  colors,  was 
a  good  arithmetician,  could  discharge  a  loaded  cannon,  tell 
a  hidden  card  in  a  pack,  and  jump  through  a  hoop.  About 
the  same  time  was  exhibited  in  the  same  town  a  'Pig  of 
Knowledge'  who  had  precisely  the  same  accomplishments."  ^°® 

The  first  approach  toward  a  theatrical  entertainment  seems 
to  have  been  at  Philadelphia  in  1724,  where  was  given  acro- 
batic displays,  rope-walking  feats,  and  the  like,  which  ended 
up  with  a  half-acrobatic,  half-dramatic  performance  of  a  com- 
ical character.  Such  entertainments  must  have  followed  in 
other  cities.  There  was  a  theatrical  troupe,  a  sorry  lot,  in 
Philadelphia  in  1749,  which  went  to  New  York  in  1750,  and 
probably  was  the  same  that  produced  a  play  in  a  Boston  cof- 
fee-house that  caused  such  a  stir  as  to  bring  about  legislation 

^Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  243. 
^'^Ibid.,  244. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  405 

that  kept  the  drama  out  of  Boston  for  the  remainder  of  the 
colonial  period.  Although  at  this  time  there  may  not  have 
been  any  dramatic  plays  given,  there  was  a  custom  in  Vir- 
ginia at  country  houses  to  have  the  reading  aloud  of  plays, 
romances,  and  operas  on  rainy  days,  Sunday  afternoons,  and 
when  there  might  not  have  been  dancing  of  an  evening  because 
no  fiddler  could  be  secured  for  the  music,  and,  later,  after  the 
introduction  of  the  drama  into  the  colonies  amateur  com- 
panies were  organized  to  give  plays. 

The  first  real  theatrical  company  in  the  colonies  was  in 
1752,  which  troupe,  twelve  in  number,  came  over  frora  Eng- 
land. Their  opening  play  was  given  at  Williamsburg,  at  that 
time  the  capital  of  Virginia.  This  place  was  probably  chosen 
for  the  beginning  of  the  theatrical  work  in  the  colonies  "be- 
cause the  inhabitants  of  Virginia  were  known  to  be  rich,  leis- 
urely, and  society-loving  people,  with  enough  of  refinement  to 
enjoy  plays,  and  with  few  religious  scruples  against  anything 
that  tended  to  make  life  pleasant  to  the  upper  classes. ' '  ^^° 

"Twenty-four  plays  had  been  selected  and  cast  before 
Lewis  Hallam  and  his  company  left  London  on  the  'Charm- 
ing Sally, '  no  doubt  a  tobacco-ship  returning  light  for  a  cargo. 
On  her  unsteady  deck,  day  after  day,  during  the  long  voyage, 
the  actors  diligently  rehearsed  the  plays  with  which  they 
proposed  to  cheer  the  hearts  of  people  in  the  New  World. 
Williamsburg  must  have  proved  a  disappointment  to  them. 
There  were  not  more  than  a  thousand  people,  white  and  black, 
in  the  village.  The  buildings,  except  the  capitol,  the  college, 
and  the  so-called  'palace'  of  the  governor,  were  insignificant, 
and  there  were  only  about  a  dozen  'gentlemen's'  families  resi- 
dent in  the  place.  In  the  outskirts  of  the  town  a  warehouse 
was  fitted  up  for  a  theater.  The  woods  were  all  about  it,  and 
the  actors  could  shoot  squirrels  from  the  windows.  When  the 
time  arrived  for  the  opening  of  the  theater,  the  company  were 
much  disheartened.  It  seemed  during  the  long  still  hours  of 
the  day  that  they  had  come  on  a  fool's  errand  to  act  dramas 
in  the  woods.  But  as  evening  drew  on,  the  whole  scene 
changed  like  a  work  of  magic.  The  roads  leading  into  Wil- 
liamsburg were  thronged  with  out-of-date  vehicles  of  every 
sort,  driven  by  negroes  and  filled  with  gayly  dressed  ladies, 
whose  gallants  rode  on  horseback  alongside.  The  treasury 
was  replenished,   the   theater  was  crowded,   and   Shakspere 

""Eggleston,  Social  life  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VIII,  404. 


406  The  Historical  Child 

was  acted  on  the  continent  probably  for  the  first  time  by  a 
trained  and  competent  company.  The  'Merchant  of  Venice' 
and  Garrick  's  farce  of  '  Lethe '  were  played ;  and  at  the  close 
the  actors  found  themselves  surrounded  by  groups  of  plant- 
ers congratulating  them,  and  after  the  Virginia  fashion  offer- 
ing them  the  hospitality  of  their  houses.""^ 

This  troupe  finished  the  season  at  Williamsburg  and  then 
went  to  Annapolis  and  throughout  Maryland  and  reached 
New  York  in  1753  and  later  went  to  Philadelphia.  They  made 
a  trip  to  the  West  Indies  and  on  their  return  to  New  York 
in  1758  they  had  difficulty  in  getting  permission  to  play  as  a 
great  religious  wave  had  swept  over  the  country  and  there  was 
a  strong  feeling  against  such  amusements.  The  troupe  man- 
aged to  overcome  this  opposition  and  continued  in  the  col- 
onies till  the  Revolutionary  troubles  arose.  In  1774  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the  people  in  asking 
that  there  be  a  discontinuance  of  such  sports  and  entertain- 
ments as  would  tend  to  distract  thought  and  feeling  from  the 
getting  ready  of  the  colonies  to  defend  their  rights,  and  when 
the  head  of  the  American  company,  as  the  troupe  was  called, 
received  this  resolution  from  the  president  of  the  Congress, 
the  work  of  the  company  was  stopped  and  the  actors  sailed  for 
the  West  Indies  and  that  ended  the  drama  in  the  colonies. 

At  the  opening  play  by  the  English  company  at  Williams- 
burg in  1752,  the  music  was  that  of  the  harpsichord  and 
furnished  by  the  local  music-master,  and  when  they  reached 
New  York  they  procured  a  violinist.  The  theaters  built  at 
this  time  were  little  more  than  enclosed  sheds  and  they  were 
usually  painted  red.  The  scenery  was  quite  indifferent.  The 
seats  were  classified  into  boxes,  pit,  and  gallery.  The  people  in 
the  pit  were  allowed  to  use  liquors  and  smoking  was  permitted 
anywhere  in  the  theater.  Plays  began  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening  and  servants  and  slaves  were  sent  early  beforetimes 
to  hold  seats  for  their  masters  and  mistresses.  "Gentlemen 
made  free  to  go  behind  the  scenes,  and  to  loiter  in  full  view 
on  the  stage,  showing  their  gallantry  by  disturbing  atten- 
tions to  the  actresses. "  ^^-  which  "proved  so  deleterious  to 
any  good  representation  of  the  play,  that  the  manager  adver- 
tised in  'Gaines'  Mercury,'  in  1762,  that  no  spectators  would 
be    permitted    to    stand    or    sit    on    the    stage    during    the 

"^Eggleston,  Social  life  in  the  colonies,  Century  magazine,  VIII,  405. 
^Ubid.,  406. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  407 

performance.  And  also  a  reproof  was  printed  to  'the  person 
so  very  rude  as  to  throw  Eggs  from  the  Gallery  upon  the 
stage,  to  the  injury  of  Cloaths.'  "  ^^^ 

Games  and  Sports  of  Children  ajid  Young  People.  Chil- 
dren played  games  and  engaged  in  sports  during  the  colonial 
times  in  the  United  States  and  many  of  these  games  were  the 
same  as  were  played  in  the  home  countries  from  whence  their 
ancestors  came  and  they  are  played  today  by  their  descen- 
dants They  were  tormented,  too,  in  their  play,  just  as  chil- 
dren always  are,  by  adults  in  power,  as  shown  by  the  following 
order  issued  in  New  York  in  1673.  "If  any  children  be 
caught  on  the  street  playing,  racing,  and  shouting  previous  to 
the  termination  of  the  last  preaching,  the  officers  of  justice 
may  take  their  hat  or  upper  garment,  which  shall  not  be 
restored  to  the  parents  until  they  have  paid  a  fine  of  two 
guilders."  ^^*  The  Puritan  boys,  too,  had  laws  passed  against 
one  of  their  games  that  cannot  be  played  without  somebody 
getting  hurt  and  hence  the  foolishness  of  such  a  law  as  was 
made  in  Boston  in  1657.  "Forasmuch  as  sundry  complaints 
are  made  that  several  persons  have  received  hurt  by  boys  and 
young  men  playing  at  football  in  the  streets,  these  therefore 
are  to  enjoin  that  none  be  found  at  that  game  in  any  of  the 
streets,  lanes  or  enclosures  of  this  town  under  the  penalty  o± 
twenty  shillings  for  every  such  offence."  ^^^ 

But  such  laws  as  given  above  did  not  altogether  crush  the 
spirits  of  the  boys  for,  as  stated  before,  one  man  whose  duties 
were  to  patrol  New  Amsterdam  at  night  found  they  were 
active  enough,  for  he  complained  that  the  boys  set  dogs  on  him, 
hid  behind  trees  and  fences  and  shouted  out  as  he  came  by 
' '  Indians ! ' '  and  played  other  tricks  on  him.  Even  as  much  as 
the  Puritans  tried  to  depress  the  spirits  of  their  children,  yet 
we  find  one  of  them  noting  in  his  diary  of  his  grandson:  "In 
the  morning  I  dehorted  Sam  Hirst  and  Grindall  Rawson  from 
playing  Idle  tricks  because  'twas  first  of  April :  They  were  the 
greatest  fools  that  did  so. ' ' "®  And  this  same  boy  was  so 
wrought  up  with  play  when  he  was  six  years  older  as  to 
cause  his  grandfather  to  write:  "Sam  Hirst  got  up  betime  in 
the  morning,  and  took  Ben  Swett  with  him  and  went  into  the 

^"  Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  212. 
"^Jbtd.,  18. 

""  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  18. 
"«/&id.,  17. 


408  The  Historical  Child 

Comon  to  play  Wicket.  AVent  before  anybody  was  up,  left 
the  door  open :  Sam  came  not  to  prayer  at  which  I  was  much 
displeased."  "^ 

These  children  played  the  old  historic  game  of  cat's-cradle 
and  passed  it  on  to  the  children  of  today,  a  game  that  is  found 
in  many  lands  and  among  both  civilized  and  uncivilized 
peoples.^^*  They  played  hop  scotch  and  tag  of  various  kinds 
and  Loudon  Bridge  and  honey-pots,  and  many,  m.any  others, 
as  given  in  the  paragraph  below.  They  enjoyed  singing  games, 
of  which  they  had  quite  a  number. 

"In  a  quaint  little  book  called  The  Pretty  Little  Pocket  Book, 
published  in  America  at  Revolutionary  times,  is  a  list  of  boys' 
games  with  dingy  pictures  showing  how  the  games  were 
played;  the  names  given  were  chuck-farthing;  kite-flying; 
dancing  round  May-pole;  marbles;  hoop  and  hide;  thread 
the  needle ;  fishing ;  blindman  's  buff ;  shuttlecock  ;  king  and  I ; 
peg-farthing ;  knock  out  and  span ;  hop,  skip,  and  jump ;  boys 
and  girls  come  out  to  play ;  I  sent  a  letter  to  my  love ;  cricket ; 
stool-ball;  base-ball;  trap-ball;  swimming;  tip-cat;  train- 
banding;  fives;  leap-frog;  bird-nesting;  hop-hat;  shooting; 
hop-scotch ;  squares  ;  riding ;  rosemary  tree.  The  descriptions 
of  the  games  are  given  in  rhyme,  and  to  each  attached  a  moral 
lesson  in  verse. ' '  "^    The  following  is  a  good  illustration : 

' '  MARBLES 

"Knuckle  down  to  your  Taw. 

Aim  well,  shoot  away. 
Keep  out  of  the  Ring, 

You'll   soon   learn   to  Play. 

* '  MORAL 

"Time  rolls  like  a  Marble, 

And  drives  every  State. 
Then  improve  each  Moment, 

Before  its  too  late.""" 

A  lady  writing  of  a  custom  that  prevailed  at  Albany  about 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  during  her  childhood 
there,  writes  as  follows: 

' '  The  children  of  the  town  were  divided  into  companies,  as 
they  called  them,  from  five  to  six  years  of  age,  until  they 

"'  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  18. 
^"  Haddon,  Cat's  cradles  from  many  lands. 
"» Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  daySj  346. 
'''"Ibid.,  375. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  409 

became  marriageable.  How  those  companies  first  originated, 
or  what  were  their  exact  regulations,  I  cannot  say ;  though  I, 
belonging  to  none,  occasionally  mixed  with  several,  yet  always 
as  a  stranger,  notwithstanding  that  I  spoke  their  current  lan- 
guage fluently.  Every  company  contained  as  many  boys  as 
girls.  But  I  do  not  know  that  there  was  any  limited  number ; 
only  this  I  recollect,  that  a  boy  and  girl  of  each  company, 
who  were  older,  cleverer,  or  had  some  other  pre-eminence 
among  the  rest,  were  called  heads  of  the  company,  and  as  such 
were  obeyed  by  the  others.  .  .  .  Children  of  different  ages  in 
the  same  family  belonged  to  different  companies.  Each  com- 
pany at  a  certain  time  of  the  year  went  in  a  body  to  gather 
a  particular  kind  of  berries  to  the  hill.  It  was  a  sort  of  annual 
festival  attended  with  religious  punctuality.  Every  com- 
pany had  a  uniform  for  this  purpose ;  that  is  to  say,  very 
pretty  light  baskets  made  by  the  Indians,  with  lids  and  han- 
dles, which  hung  over  one  arm,  and  were  adorned  with 
various  colors.  Every  child  was  permitted  to  entertain  the 
whole  company  on  its  birthday,  and  once  besides,  during 
winter  and  spring.  The  master  and  mistress  of  the  family 
always  were  bound  to  go  from  home  on  these  occasions,  while 
some  old  domestic  was  left  to  attend  and  watch  over  them, 
with  an  ample  provision  of  tea,  chocolate,  preserved  and 
dried  fruits,  nuts  and  cakes  of  various  kinds,  to  which  was 
added  cider  or  a  syllabub ;  for  these  young  friends  met  at 
four  and  amused  themselves  with  the  utmost  gayety  and 
freedom  in  any  way  their  fancy  dictated."  ^^^ 

**In  spring,  eight  or  ten  of  the  young  people  of  one  com- 
pany, or  related  to  each  other,  young  men  and  maidens, 
would  set  out  together  in  a  canoe  on  a  kind  of  rural  excur- 
sion, of  which  amusement  was  the  object.  Yet  so  fixed  were 
their  habits  of  industry  that  they  never  failed  to  carry  their 
work-baskets  with  them,  not  as  a  form,  but  as  an  ingredient 
necessarily  mixed  with  their  pleasures.  They  had  no  attend- 
ants, and  steered  a  devious  course  of  four,  five,  or  perhaps 
more  miles,  till  they  arrived  at  some  of  the  beautiful  islands 
with  M^hich  this  fine  river  abounded,  or  at  some  sequestered 
spot  on  its  banks,  where  delicious  wild  fruits,  or  particular 
conveniences  for  fishing  afforded  some  attraction.  There 
they  generally  arrived  by  nine  or  ten  o'clock,  having  set  out 
in  the  cool  and  early  hour  of  sunrise.  ...  A  basket  with 
tea,  sugar,  and  the  other  usual  provisions  for  breakfast,  with 

""Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  22-23. 


410  The  Historical  Child 

the  apparatus  for  cooking  it;  a  little  rum  and  fruit  for  mak- 
ing cool  weak  punch,  the  usual  beverage  in  the  middle  of  tht 
day,  and  now  and  then  some  cold  pastry,  was  the  sole  pro- 
vision; for  the  great  affair  was  to  depend  on  the  sole  exer- 
tions of  the  boys  in  procuring  fish,  wild  ducks,  etc.,  for  the 
dinner.  They  were  all,  like  Indians,  ready  and  dexterous 
with  the  axe,  gun,  etc.  Whenever  they  arrived  at  their  des- 
tination, they  sought  out  a  dry  and  beautiful  spot  opposite 
to  the  river,  and  in  an  instant  with  their  axes  cleared  so 
much  superfluous  shade  or  shrubbery  as  left  a  semi-circular 
opening,  above  which  they  bent  and  twined  the  boughs,  so 
as  to  form  a  pleasant  bower,  while  the  girls  gathered  dried 
branches,  to  which  one  of  the  youths  soon  set  fire  with  gun- 
powder, and  the  breakfast,  a  very  regular  and  cheerful  one, 
occupied  an  hour  or  two.  The  young  men  then  set  out  to  fish, 
or  perhaps  to  shoot  birds,  and  the  maidens  sat  busily  down  to 
their  work.  After  the  sultrj'  hours  had  been  thus  employed, 
the  boys  brought  their  tribute  from  the  river  or  the  wood, 
and  found  a  rural  meal  prepared  by  their  fair  companions, 
among  whom  were  generally  their  sisters  and  the  chosen  of 
their  hearts.  After  dinner  they  all  set  out  together  to  gather 
wild  strawberries,  or  whatever  other  fruit  was  in  season ;  for 
it  was  accounted  a  reflection  to  come  home  empty-handed. 
When  wearied  of  this  amusement,  they  either  drank  tea  in 
their  bower,  or,  returning,  landed  at  some  friend's  on  the 
way,  to  partake  of  that  refreshment. "  ^^- 

When  we  come  to  water  sports  there  is  found  more  hec- 
toring of  the  boys  by  the  lawmakers.  The  Puritan  lawgivers 
passed  laws  against  swimming  and  each  tithing-man  had  ten 
families  under  his  charge  to  keep  the  boys  from  swimming  in 
the  water,  but  it  is  guessed  that  the  boys  swam  all  the  same. 
Strange  to  say  the  boys  were  not  debarred  from  the  oppo- 
site winter  sport — that  of  skating,  nevertheless  there  were 
many  deaths  from  breaking  through  the  ice  and  drowning. 

"Skating  is  an  ancient  pastime.  As  early  as  the  thir- 
teenth century  Fitzstephen  tells  of  young  Londoners  fasten- 
ing the  leg-bones  of  animals  to  the  soles  of  the  feet,  and  then 
pushing  themselves  on  the  ice  by  means  of  poles  shod  with 
sharp  iron  points.  .  .  .  Wooden  skates  shod  with  iron  runners 
were  invented  in  the  Low  Countries.  Dutch  children  in 
New  Netherlands  all  skated,  just  as  their  grandfathers  had 
in  old  Batavia.     The  first  skates  that  William  Livingstone 

""Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  205. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  411 

(bom  in  1723)  had  on  the  frozen  Hudson  were  made  of  beef 
bones,  as  were  those  of  medieval  children. ' '  ^^^ 

There  might  be  some  excuse  made  for  the  Puritans  trying 
to  keep  their  boys  from  swimming  because  of  their  great  fear 
of  the  use  of  water,  both  internally  and  externally,  but  how 
can  the  legislators  of  Albany  be  excused  for  the  following 
cruel  law! 

"Whereas  y*  children  of  y^  s'^  city  do  very  unorderly  to 
y®  shame  and  scandall  of  their  parents  ryde  down  y^  hills 
in  y*  streets  of  the  s*^  city  with  small  and  great  slees  on  the 
Lord  day  and  in  the  week  by  which  many  accidents  may 
come,  now  for  pventing  y^  same  it  is  hereby  published  and 
declared  y*  shall  be  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  Constable  in 
this  City  or  any  other  person  or  persons  to  take  any  slee  or 
slees  from  all  and  every  such  boys  and  girls  rydeing  or 
offering  to  rj'de  down  any  hill  within  y^  s*'  city  and  breake 
any  slee  or  slees  in  pieces.  Given  under  our  hands  and  seals 
in  Albany  y^  22th  of  December  in  12th  year  of  Her  Maj's 
reign  Anno  Domini  1713."  ^2* 

By  1765  it  would  seem  that  legislation  in  Albany  against 
coasting  had  been  abandoned  or  else  the  coasting  was  done 
at  night-time  when  travel  had  ceased.  This  passage  below 
is  by  the  same  woman,  writing  of  about  the  year  1765,  who 
is  quoted  above  in  regard  to  the  companies  of  children  and 
young  people  of  Albany. 

"In  town  all  the  boys  were  extravagantly  fond  of  a  di- 
version that  to  us  would  appear  a  very  odd  and  childish  one. 
The  great  street  of  the  town  sloped  down  from  the  hill  on 
which  the  fort  stood,  towards  the  river ;  between  the  build- 
ings was  an  unpaved  carriage-road,  the  foot-path  beside  the 
houses  being  the  only  part  of  the  street  which  was  paved. 
In  winter  the  sloping  descent,  continued  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  acquired  firmness  from  the  frost,  and 
became  very  slippery.  Then  the  amusement  commenced. 
Every  boy  and  youth  in  town,  from  eight  to  eighteen,  had  a 
little  low  sledge,  made  with  a  rope  like  a  bridle  to  the  front, 
by  which  it  could  be  dragged  after  one  by  the  hand.  On  this 
one  or  two  at  most  could  sit,  and  this  sloping  descent  being 
made  as  smooth  as  a  looking-glass,  by  sliders'  sledges,  etc., 
perhaps  a  hundred  at  once  set  out  from  the  top  of  this 
street,  each  seated  in  his  little  sledge  with  the  rope  in  his 

"^Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  371-372. 
***  Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  19. 


412  The  Historical  Child 

hand,  which,  drawn  to  the  right  or  left,  served  to  guide  him. 
He  pushed  it  off  with  a  little  stick,  as  one  would  launch  a 
boat ;  and  then,  with  the  most  astonishing  velocity,  precipi- 
tated by  the  weight  of  the  owner,  the  little  machine  glided 
past,  and  was  at  the  lower  end  of  the  street  in  an  instant. 
What  could  be  so  delightful  in  this  rapid  and  smooth  descent 
I  could  never  discover ;  though  in  a  more  retired  place,  and 
on  a  smaller  scale,  I  have  tried  the  amusement;  but  to  a 
young  Albanian,  sleighing,  as  he  called  it,  was  one  of  the 
first  joys  of  life,  though  attended  by  the  drawback  of  walk- 
ing to  the  top  of  the  declivity,  dragging  his  sledge  every  time 
he  renewed  his  flight,  for  such  it  might  well  be  called.  In 
the  managing  this  little  machine  some  dexterity  was  neces- 
sary ;  an  unskilful  Phaeton  was  sure  to  fall.  The  convey- 
ance was  so  low  that  a  fall  was  attended  with  little  danger, 
yet  with  much  disgrace,  for  an  universal  laugh  from  all  sides 
assailed  the  fallen  charioteer.  This  laugh  was  from  a  very 
full  chorus,  for  the  constant  and  rapid  succession  of  this 
procession,  where  every  one  had  a  brother,  lover,  or  kins- 
man, brought  all  the  young  people  in  town  to  the  porticos, 
where  they  used  to  sit  wrapt  in  furs  till  ten  or  eleven  at 
night,  engrossed  by  this  delectable  spectacle.  I  have  known 
an  Albanian,  after  residing  some  years  in  Britain,  and  be- 
coming a  polished  fine  gentleman,  join  the  sport  and  slide 
down  with  the  rest."^^^ 

Children's  Toys  and  Story  Books.  Toys  must  have  been 
quite  scarce  in  the  earlier  colonial  days,  probably  very  few 
beyond  what  the  children  or  parents  made,  and  rather  crude. 
Even  as  late  as  1695  a  man  in  Massachusetts  wrote  to  his 
brother  in  England  that  if  toys  in  small  quantities  were  sent 
to  the  colonies  they  would  sell.  Some  years  later  toys  in- 
creased in  number  and  toyshops  arose,  there  being  one  in 
Boston  in  1743.  It  is  certainly  hard  to  understand  why  mar- 
bles should  not  have  been  advertised  for  sale  at  an  earlier 
time  than  the  date  given  in  the  following:  "Not  until  Octo- 
ber, 1771,  on  the  lists  of  the  Boston  shopkeepers,  who  seemed 
to  advertise  and  to  sell  every  known  article  of  dry  goods, 
hardware,  house  furnishing,  ornament,  dress,  and  food,  came 
that  single  but  pleasure-filled  item  'Boys  Marbles.'  "^^^ 

There  were  not  a  great  variety  of  toys  used  in  the  col- 
onies.    Tin  toys  were  quite  scarce  as  tin  was  not  much  in 

"^  Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  20-22. 
^^'Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  20. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  413 

use  at  that  time  for  such  purposes.  There  were  kites,  hoops, 
balls,  battledore  and  shuttles,  tops,  marbles,  skates  and 
sleds.  There  were  home-made  hobby-horses,  coaches,  and 
chariots.  The  boj^s  had  jack-knives  and  knew  how  to  use 
them  in  making  pop-guns,  whistles,  windmills,  water-wheels^ 
traps,  and  the  like.  Boys  also  made  their  own  weapons,  £is, 
clubs,  slings,  bows,  and  arrows.  The  girls  had  dolls,  of 
course,  but  they  were  home-made  affairs  for  the  greater  part. 
The  only  dolls  advertised  in  the  colonial  papers  were  those 
told  about  under  dress,  which  were  the  models  that  were 
dressed  in  Europe  and  sent  over  to  mantua-makers  to  give 
the  styles.  It  is  true  that  after  serving  this  purpose  the 
dolls  were  sold  for  children's  use  and  thought  much  of  by 
them.  The  furniture  was  much  of  it  home-made,  birch  bark 
being  especially  adaptable  for  the  purpose.  Wicker  cradles 
and  chaises  were  made  for  the  dolls,  copied  from  those  of 
infants. 

It  would  seem  that  there  were  absolutely  no  books  speci- 
ally written  for  the  pleasure  of  the  children  in  the  early 
years  of  the  colonial  times,  nor  for  that  matter  were  there 
any  such  written  in  England  during  the  same  period.  There 
were,  however,  to  teach  some  truths,  three  books  written  that 
were  taken  up  by  the  children  and  who  greatly  loved  to  read 
them,  which  were  The  Pilgrim's  Progress  in  1688,  Rohinson 
Crusoe  in  1714,  and  Gulliver's  Travels  in  1726.  The  begin- 
ning of  story  books  for  children  in  England  and  America 
was  in  1744,  when  John  Newberry  began  publishing  such 
books  in  London.  His  books  were  at  once  exported  to 
America  and  advertisements  of  them  are  found  in  the  co- 
lonial newspapers.  One  of  these  books,  probably  published 
in  1744,  was  "The  Pretty  Little  Pocket  Book,"  one  story 
in  which  was  "Jack  the  Giant  Killer."  Another  book  pub- 
lished by  Newberry  about  1760  was  "Mother  Goose's  Melo- 
dies." After  the  Revolution,  story  books  for  children  be- 
came more  common  and  they  have  kept  increasing  through 
the  years  to  the  present. 

Holidays  and  Festivals.  The  old  English  festivals  were 
not  greatly  observed  by  the  colonists.  In  Puritan  New  Eng- 
land there  were  few  set  times  and  days  for  pleasure.  The 
holy  days  of  the  English  Church  were  not  only  disregarded 
by  the  Puritans,  but  even  laws  were  made  forbidding  their 
public  celebration,  for  while  in  England  they  had  turned 
away  from  the  state  church  and  they  had  learned  to  hate 


414  The  Historical  Child 

the  excesses  of  the  festivals.  In  the  other  colonies  the  de- 
mands of  the  early  years  and  the  getting  away  from  religious 
influences  may  have  brought  about  the  decline  of  the  cele- 
bration of  the  church  festivals,  for  even  in  Virginia,  which 
clung  to  the  old  church,  the  clergy  complained  that  the 
people  only  observed  Christmas  and  Good  Friday  as  they 
did  not  want  to  stop  work  for  other  holidays. 

Although  Christmas  was  observed  in  the  colonies  outside 
of  New  England,  it  was  not  with  the  old  English  fervor  and 
never  with  the  great  excesses,  as.  stated  by  one  of  the  old 
Puritan  divines  as  spent  throughout  England  in  "revelling, 
dicing,  carding,  masking,  mumming,  consumed  in  compo- 
tations,  in  interludes,  in  excess  of  wine,  in  mad  mirth.  "^^^ 

New  Year's  Day  was  a  great  day  for  the  Dutch  in  New 
York  and  its  observance  was  continued  by  the  English  when 
they  came  into  control.  The  Dutch  inaugurated  the  cus- 
tom of  New  Year's  calling,  wherein  the  ladies  kept  open 
house  and  were  called  upon  by  their  gentleman  friends. 
Food  and  drink  were  served  in  generous  quantities  and  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  day  the  gentlemen  would  often  get  quite 
hilarious.  The  streets  of  the  city  would  be  filled  with  ve- 
hicles loaded  with  callers  going  from  house  to  house,  a  gen- 
eral gala  occasion.  In  the  country  towns  of  New  York  colony 
the  New  Year  was  often  ushered  in  by  men  with  fire-arms 
going  from  house  to  house  and  firing  salutes.  This  was 
kept  up  until  a  crowd  was  collected  and  then  they  would  end 
the  day  by  firing  at  a  mark. 

If  the  Dutch  of  New  York  originated  New  Year's  callings 
the  Puritans  of  New  England  originated  Thanksgiving  Day. 
Just  when  each  custom  first  began  cannot  be  determined  for 
each  must  have  arisen  gradually  and  continued  till  the  prac- 
tice became  fixed.  The  thanksgiving  days  were  not  always  at 
first  for  giving  thanks  for  God's  beneficence,  but  for  various 
reasons,  as,  political  events,  the  success  of  the  Protestant 
cause,  victories  over  Indians,  the  safe  arrival  of  ships  with 
friends  and  provisions,  and  so  on.  Nor  were  thej^  set  for 
any  special  season  or  day,  probably  Thursday  became  fixed 
because  of  its  being  the  lecture  day  and  autumn  because  of 
the  time  of  harvests  thus  making  the  days  of  thanksgiving 
come  more  often  at  this  season. 

The  first  Thanksgiving  was  not  a  religious  event  nor  a 
single  day,  but  a  time  of  recreation  as  shown  from  the  fol- 

*"  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  214. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  415 

lowing  written  by  one  of  the  Puritans  in  Plymouth  on  De- 
cember 11,  1621 : 

"Our  harvest  being  gotten  in,  our  governor  sent  four  men 
on  fowling  that  so  we  might  after  a  special  manner  rejoice 
together  after  we  had  gathered  the  fruits  of  our  labors. 
They  four  killed  as  much  fowl  as  with  a  little  help  beside 
served  the  company  about  a  week.  At  which  times  among 
other  recreations  we  exercised  our  arms,  many  of  the  Indians 
coming  amongst  us,  and  among  the  rest  their  greatest  king 
Massasoyt  with  some  ninety  men,  whom  for  three  days  we 
entertained  and  feasted,  and  they  w^ent  out  and  killed  five 
deer  which  they  brought  and  bestow 'd  on  our  governor,  and 
upon  the  captains  and  others.  "^-^ 

The  first  public  thanksgiving  was  held  in  Boston  in  1630 
to  express  thanks  for  the  safe  arrival  of  ships  bringing 
friends  and  food.  From  this  on  there  were  public  thanks- 
givings, but  not  every  year,  until  it  became  a  fixed  annual 
affair,  but  at  just  what  time  this  occurred  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  state.  As  it  became  a  fixed  custom,  there  grew 
into  it  many  of  the  features  of  the  old  English  Christmas, 
notwithstanding  the  attitude  of  the  Puritans  toward  that 
day,  and  it  became  a  day  of  family  reunions  and  of  feasting 
on  turkey  and  Indian  pudding  and  pumpkin  pie. 

"But  Thanksgiving  Day  was  not  the  chief  New  England 
holiday.  Ward,  writing  in  1699,  does  not  name  it,  saying 
of  New  Englanders:  'Election,  Commencement,  and  Train- 
ing Days  are  their  only  Holy  Days.'  "  ^-® 

Election  Day  was  a  kind  of  holiday  and  indeed  sometimes 
the  whole  week  was  included  in  the  holiday.  As  was  stated 
before,  Training  Day  was  a  day  of  coming  together  of  the 
people  at  which  there  was  not  only  military  drill  but  also 
amusements  of  various  kinds  and  sometimes  the  occasion 
for  a  display  of  public  punishment.  Commencement  Day 
at  the  college  was  a  proud  day  for  the  people  whose  sons 
graduated  and  a  kind  of  general  holiday  for  all.  There  was 
a  dinner  and  plenty  of  wine.  It  would  seem  that  this  was 
an  occasion  for  which  more  than  a  day  would  be  used,  as 
after  1730  Commencement  Day  was  usually  set  for  Friday 
as  there  would  not  be  so  much  of  the  week  left  for  jollifying. 

Shrove  Tuesday  was  observed  in  New  York  b}^  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  as  a  holiday  given  over  to  cocking- 

"^Earle,  Customs  and  fasliions  in  old  New  England,  217. 
^IMd.,  223. 


416  The  Historical  Child 

mains,  as  it  was  in  England.  Saint  "Valentine's  Day  wasi 
observed  by  the  Dutch  in  New  Amsterdam  as  Women's  Day 
and  it  was  celebrated  by  the  young  women,  each  of  whom 
armed  herself  with  a  hea^'y  cord  having  a  knot  on  the  end 
with  which  she  struck  every  young  man  whom  she  would 
meet.  Guy  Fawkes'  Day  was  celebrated  at  least  in  New 
England  and  New  York,  being  the  occasion  for  bonfires  and 
fantastic  parades  and  burning  an  e^gy  of  Guy  Fawkes, 
which  often  was  only  a  straw  carried  by  each  one  to  cast 
into  the  fire.  In  some  of  the  colonies,  May  Day  was  cele- 
brated and  a  May-pole  erected  and  some  attempts  were  made 
to  celebrate  it  in  New  England  but  it  did  not  get  much 
encouragement  and  it  was  but  a  feeble  holiday  there.  Pink- 
ster Day,  the  name  being  derived  from  the  Dutch  word  for 
Pentecost,  was  a  great  holiday  in  New  York  for  the  negro 
slaves.  They  gathered  in  great  numbers  on  that  day  and 
had  singing  and  dancing  and  feasting  and  drinking — a  gen- 
eral good  time.  The  spring  sheep-shearing  and  the  autum- 
nal corn-husking  were  a  time  of  great  gatherings  and  merrj^- 
makings,  and  there  were  also  apple-bees,  maple-sugar  stir- 
rings, and  log-rollings. 

Public  Punishments.  Another  subject  that  could  have  well 
been  placed  under  amusements  is  that  of  public  punish- 
ments, for  such  did  afford  a  means  of  amusement  in  the  form 
of  ridiculing  and  reviling  the  ones  exposed  and  of  throwing 
things  at  them,  and,  too,  exposure  was  often  on  a  holiday, 
thus  affording  more  time  and  opportunity  for  the  people  to 
amuse  themselves.  Not  only  was  the  offender  or  criminal 
exposed  to  the  public  view  but  this  was  made  all  the  worse 
by  placing  him  in  some  kind  of  instrument  that  would  cause 
him  to  be  in  an  attitude  that  would  emphasize  the  gro- 
tesqueness  of  the  exposure  and  make  the  punishment  all  the 
more  insulting  and  painful.  This  public  form  of  punish- 
ment was  not  confined  wholly  to  men  for  women,  too,  were 
sometimes  placed  thus  before  the  public. 

The  exposure  of  the  culprit  was  not  enough  for  the  people 
of  those  days  and  particularly  in  New  England  for  the  par- 
son must  be  given  a  chance  to  display  his  powers  and  so  the 
offender  was  often  set  in  a  public  place  in  the  church  that 
he  might  be  prayed  and  preached  over  and  which  were  too 
often  in  the  form  of  objurgations,  and,  further,  this  sermon 
was  sometimes  printed  and  sold  for  it  was  among  the  par- 
son's greatest  efforts. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  417 

This  was  a  time  of  cruelty  toward  all  living  creatures 
whether  beasts  or  men  both  in  the  old  country  and  the  new, 
probably  somewhat  the  effect  of  the  heavy  and  habitual 
indulgence  in  alcoholic  drinks  by  all  the  people,  thus  deaden- 
ing to  an  extent  the  higher  sensibilities.  These  public  dis- 
plays must  have  hardened  the  people  and  in  particular  to 
have  accustomed  the  young  to  such  and  to  view  crime  as 
meriting  open  punishment  without  regard  to  the  feelings 
of  the  one  exposed.  Yet  some  of  the  young  people  must  have 
been  affected  in  an  opposite  manner  for  there  was  a  growing 
away  from  this  form  of  punishment  and  of  cruelty  and 
which  has  continued  down  to  the  present  time  where  the 
welfare  and  individuality  of  the  offender  is  being  more  and 
more  considered. 

These  people  of  the  olden  times  very  greatly  feared  ridi- 
cule, especially  of  being  called  names,  and  hence  the  ways 
of  punishment  were  so  devised  as  to  place  the  culprit  in  a 
ridiculous  position  and  so  that  he  could  not  resist  the  insults 
inflicted  upon  him  by  his  fellow-men.  The  colonists  were 
forever  resisting  insults  by  bringing  suits  in  petty  slander 
and  libel  cases.  Men  in  public  positions  were  in  particular 
jealous  of  their  power  and  official  honor  and  resented  and 
punished  affronts  against  themselves  or  their  offices  or  their 
public  doings.  Although  all  classes  of  people  were  greatly 
affected  by  ridicule  and  slander,  it  would  seem  that  school- 
masters and  parsons  were  the  most  active  against  such,  as 
is  shown  from  the  old  court  records. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  these  instruments  of  punishment 
was  the  bilboes.  This  consisted  of  shackles  attached  to  a 
heavy  iron  bolt  or  bar  into  which  shackles  the  legs  were 
thrust  and  then  locked  in  with  a  padlock.  Sometimes  there 
was  a  chain  on  the  end  of  the  bar  which  was  fastened  to  the 
floor  or  it  might  have  been  to  the  wall  or  a  post  so  that  the 
offender's  legs  were  pulled  up  high  to  make  his  position  the 
more  ridiculous  and  painful.  The  bilboes  were  not  greatly 
in  use  in  the  colonies  and  they  were  soon  superseded  by  the 
stocks  and  the  pillory.  The  stocks  were  made  of  two  heavy 
timbers,  one  coming  down  on  the  other,  with  circular  open- 
ings in  them  for  holding  the  legs  of  the  culprit,  and  some- 
times also  smaller  openings  for  the  arms.  The  upper  timber 
was  raised,  the  legs  of  the  culprit  placed  in  the  openings 
and  then  kept  tight  by  closing  dowoi  the  upper  piece  and 
fastening  it.     The  one  in  the  stocks  usually  sat  on  a  low 


418  The  Historical  Child 

bench.  The  pillory  consisted  of  two  pieces  of  timbers  as 
with  the  stocks  and  attached  to  two  upright  pieces  at  either 
end  at  about  the  height  of  a  man's  shoulders.  There  were 
three  circular  openings  in  the  timbers,  one  for  the  neck  and 
two  smalUones  for  the  wrists.  The  neck  and  arms  were 
placed  in  these  openings  and  confined  as  the  legs  were  in  the 
stocks,  leaving  the  head  and  hands  hanging  out  exposed,  the 
culprit  standing. 

The  ducking  stool  was  specially  designed  for  scolding 
women,  though  also  used  for  other  offenses.  There  were  dif- 
ferent forms.  The  following  description  of  one  of  these  in- 
struments and  its  use  is  said  to  be  from  a  letter  giving  an 
account  of  a  ducking  in  Virginia  in  1634: 

"The  day  afore  yesterday  at  two  of  ye  clock  in  ye  after- 
noon I  saw  this  punishment  given  to  one  Betsy  wife  of 
John  Tucker  who  by  ye  violence  of  her  tongue  has  made  his 
house  and  ye  neighborhood  uncomfortable.  She  was  taken 
to  ye  pond  near  where  I  am  sojourning  by  ye  officer  who  was 
joined  by  ye  Magistrate  and  ye  Minister  Mr.  Cotton  who  had 
frequently  admonished  her  and  a  large  number  of  People. 
They  had  a  machine  for  ye  purpose  yt  belongs  to  ye  parish, 
and  which  I  was  so  told  had  been  so  used  three  times  this 
Summer.  It  is  a  platform  with  4  small  rollers  or  wheels 
and  two  upright  posts  between  which  works  a  Lever  by  a 
Eope  fastened  to  its  shorter  or  heavier  end.  At  ye  end  of  ye 
longer  arm  is  fixed  a  stool  upon  which  sd  Betsey  was  fast- 
ened by  cords,  her  gown  tied  fast  around  her  feete.  The 
Machine  was  then  moved  up  to  ye  edge  of  ye  pond,  ye  Kope 
was  slackened  by  ye  officer  and  ye  woman  was  allowed  to  go 
down  under  ye  water  for  ye  space  of  half  a  minute.  Betsey 
had  a  stout  stomach,  and  would  not  yield  until  she  had 
allowed  herself  to  be  ducked  5  several  times.  At  length  she 
cried  piteously.  Let  me  go  Let  me  go,  by  God's  help  I'll 
sin  no  more.  Then  they  drew  back  ye  j\Iachine,  untied  ye 
Ropes  and  let  her  walk  home  in  her  wetted  clothes  a  hope- 
fully penitent  woman.  "^^° 

The  pillory  itself  was  not  sufficient  punishment,  for  too 
often  the  ears  of  the  offender  w^ere  nailed  back  to  the  wood 
by  his  head  and  when  the  head  was  removed  from  the  pillory 
sometimes  the  nails  were  not  pulled  and  the  ears  thus  re- 
leased but  the  ears  w^ere  split  out  of  the  nails.  The  cutting 
off  the  ears  of  the  offender  was  of  rather  frequent  occurrence. 

""Earle,  Curious  punisliments  of  bygone  days,  19. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  419 

The  brank  or  scold's  bridle,  a  kind  of  head-piece  with  a 
spiked  plate  or  fiat  tongue  of  iron  to  be  placed  in  the  mouth, 
was  a  cruel  instrument  that  seems  not  to  have  been  used  in 
the  colonies,  as  they  used  a  cleft  stick  into  which  the  tongue 
was  inserted.  Another  form  of  punishment  was  the  placing 
of  a  letter  or  inscription  on  the  offender,  sometimes  the  letter 
was  of  a  conspicuous  color  and  sewed  on  to  the  garment  in 
a  conspicuous  place.  The  ears  were  not  the  only  part  to  be 
maimed,  for  the  nostrils  were  slit  and  the  cheeks  and  fore- 
head were  gashed  and  the  tongue  was  bored  through  with  an 
awl,  or  even  with  a  hot  iron.  Branding  with  a  hot  iron 
was  a  common  enough  form  of  punishment  and  to  make  it 
the  more  striking  it  was  often  done  on  the  forehead  or  the 
cheek  or  on  the  hands. 

Whipping  became  a  common  and  frequent  punishment 
and  it  was  used  for  a  number  of  different  kinds  of  offenses. 
In  New  York  in  the  time  of  Dutch  control  two  of  the  most 
common  causes  for  whipping  was  drunkenness  and  theft. 
In  New  England  whipping  was  used  as  a  punishment  for 
lying,  swearing,  taking  false  toll,  perjury,  selling  rum  to  the 
Indians,  drunkenness,  slander,  name-calling,  making  false 
love  to  a  young  woman  in  which  a  pretense  of  marriage  was 
used,  and  for  other  crimes.  One  of  the  greatest  crimes  in  New 
England  was  idleness  and  "transients"  as  they  were  called, 
people  who  would  not  settle  down  and  keep  at  steady  work, 
were  often  whipped  from  town  to  town,  for  they  were  not 
allowed  to  remain  anywhere  very  long.  "So  common  were 
whippings  in  the  southern  colonies  at  the  date  of  settlement 
of  the  country,  that  in  Virginia  even  'launderers  and  laun- 
deresses'  who  'dare  to  wash  any  uncleane  Linen,  drive  bucks, 
or  throw  out  the  open  water  or  suds  of  fowle  clothes  in  the 
open  streetes,'  or  who  took  pay  for  washing  for  a  soldier  or 
laborer,  or  who  gave  old  torn  linen  for  good  linen,  were 
severely  whipped.  JIany  other  offenses  were  punished  by 
whipping  in  Virginia,  such  as  slitting  the  ears  of  hogs,  or 
cutting  off  the  ends  of  hog's  ears — thereby  removing  ear- 
marks and  destroying  claim  to  perambulatory  property — 
stealing  tobacco,  running  away  from  home,  drunkenness, 
destruction  of  land-marks. "  ^^^ 

Sometimes  the  offender  was  tied  to  the  tail  of  a  cart  and 
whipped  through  the  streets,  sometimes  he  was  whipped  at 
the   pillory,   but   most   often   the   whipping-post  was   used. 

^Earle,  Curious  punishments  of  bygone  days,  83. 


420  The  Historical  Child 

"There  was  a  whipping-post  on  Queen  Street  in  Boston, 
another  on  the  Common,  another  on  State  Street,  and  they 
were  constantly  in  use  in  Boston  in  Eevolutionary  times. 
Samuel  Breck  wrote  of  the  year  1771 : 

'*  *  The  large  whipping-post  painted  red  stood  conspicu- 
ously and  prominently  in  the  most  public  street  in  the  town. 
It  was  placed  in  State  Street  directly  under  the  window  of 
a  great  writing  school  which  I  frequented,  and  from  there 
the  scholars  were  indulged  in  the  spectacle  of  all  kinds  of 
punishment  suited  to  harden  their  hearts  and  brutalize  their 
feelings.'  "  ^^^ 

Women  as  well  as  men  were  whipped.  Sometimes  the 
whipping  was  done  in  the  jail-yard,  sometimes  at  the  whip- 
ping-post, and  sometimes  even  at  the  tail  of  a  cart,  this  last 
was  a  common  enough  form  used  on  the  Quaker  women  in 
Massachusetts.  The  following  would  imply  that  sex  did  not 
greatly  appeal  to  the  colonists.  "In  the  'Pticuler'  Court  of 
Connecticut  this  entry  appears:  May  12,  1668.  .  .  ,  Mary 
Wilton,  the  wife  of  Nicholas  Wilton,  for  contemptuous  and 
reproachful  terms  by  her  put  on  one  of  the  Assistants  are 
adjudged  she  to  be  whipt  6  stripes  upon  the  naked  body  next 
training  day  at  Windsor. "  ^^^  "  From  a  New  York  news- 
paper, dated  1712,  I  learn  that  one  woman  at  the  whipping- 
post 'created  much  amusement  by  her  resistance.'  "  ^'^*  Quot- 
ing further  from  Samuel  Breck  about  the  whipping-post 
in  Boston  in  1771 :  ' '  Here  women  were  taken  in  a  huge  cage 
in  which  they  were  dragged  on  wheels  from  prison,  and  tied 
to  the  post  with  bare  backs  on  which  thirty  or  forty  lashes 
were  bestowed  among  the  screams  of  the  culprit  and  the 
uproar  of  the  mob."  "^  "In  Virginia  in  1664  Major  Robbius 
brought  suit  against  one  IMary  Powell  for  'scandalous 
speaches'  against  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Teackle,  for  which  she  was  or- 
dered to  receive  twenty  lashes  on  her  bare  shoulders  and  to 
be  banished  the  country.""^* 

This  gruesome  story  of  public  punishments  may  v;ell  be 
ended  with  the  most  gruesome  part  of  all,  that  of  publio 
hangings.  Far  greater  than  the  amusement  afforded  our  old 
colonial  ancestors  by  witnessing  the  whipping  or  maiming 

"^  Earle,  Curious  punishments  of  bygone  days,  81. 
'^  Ibid.,  78. 
"*Ibid.,  79. 
'""Ibid.,  82. 
""'^Ibid.,  83. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  421 

or  branding  of  offenders  or  even  the  getting  to  rail  at  them 
set  in  stocks,  bilboes,  cage,  or  pillory,  was  the  thrilling  spec- 
tacle of  a  public  execution  and  which  became  all  the  greater 
gala  day  if  several  persons  were  hanged  together  at  the  one 
occasion.  One  of  the  greatest  of  these  exhibitions  occurred 
at  Boston  on  June  30,  1704,  when  seven  pirates  were  exe- 
cuted. "Sermons  were  preached  in  their  Hearing  Every 
Day,  And  Prayers  made  daily  with  them.  And  they  were 
Catechized  and  they  had  many  Occasional  exhortations.  Yet 
as  they  led  a  wicked  and  vitious  life  so  to  appearance  they 
died  very  obdurately  and  impenitently  hardened  in  their 
sin. "^^^  So  ran  the  account  in  the  Neivs  Letter  in  an  "ex- 
tra" for  the  event.  Of  course  such  a  noted  happening  could 
not  have  escaped  so  good  a  chronicler  as  Judge  Sewall  for  he 
gave  the  following  account  of  this  hanging  in  his  diary: 

"After  dinner  about  3  p.  m.  I  went  to  see  the  Execution. 
Many  were  the  people  that  saw  upon  Broughtons  Hill  But 
when  I  came  to  see  how  the  River  was  covered  with  People 
I  was  amazed ;  Some  say  there  were  100  boats.  150  Boats 
&  Canoes  saith  Cousin  Moody  of  York.  He  Told  them.  Mr. 
Cotton  Mather  came  with  Captain  Quelch  &  6  others  for 
Execution  from  the  Prison  to  Scarletts  Wharf  and  from 
thence  in  Boat  to  the  place  of  Execution,  When  the  Scaffold 
was  hoisted  to  a  due  height  the  seven  Malefactors  went  up. 
Mr.  Mather  pray  'd  for  them  standing  upon  the  Boat.  Ropes 
were  all  fastened  to  the  Gallows  save  King  who  was  Re- 
prieved. When  the  Scaffold  was  let  to  sink  there  was  such 
a  Screech  of  the  Women  that  my  wife  heard  it  sitting  in 
our  Entry  next  the  Orchard  and  was  much  surprised  at  it, 
yet  the  wind  was  sou-west.  Our  house  is  a  full  mile  from  the 
place."  ^^•'^ 

Manufactures.  The  colonists  were  very  busy  people.  This 
was  particularly  true  of  the  earlier  times  when  nature  had 
to  be  conquered.  They  had  to  make  a  great  many  of 
their  own  implements  and  to  learn  to  use  in  a  skillful  man- 
ner the  few  tools  they  had.  They  had  to  learn  to  adapt 
the  materials  that  nature  furnished  and  to  shape  them  into 
forms  best  fitted  for  their  work.  They  learned  to  select  the 
natural  forms  of  things  that  could  serve  various  purposes. 
They  had  two  tools,  the  ax  and  the  knife,  that  were  readily 
and  skillfully  used  in  home  manufacturing. 

"^Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  of  oM  New  England,  252. 

"'a/&iU,  252. 


422  The  Historical  Child 

The  colonists  cut  and  shaped  the  logs  for  their  houses 
and  made  stanchions  and  clapboards  and  shingles  and  laths. 
They  selected  pieces  of  timber  and  trimmed  them  for  snaths 
for  their  scythes  and  flails,  sled-runners  and  thills  for  carts, 
hames  and  ox-yokes,  stakes  and  poles  for  various  uses,  whip- 
stalks  and  ax-handles,  and  handles  for  spades.  They  made 
salt-mortars,  hog  troughs,  maple-sap  troughs,  and  simi- 
lar articles  by  burning  and  scraping  out  logs  cut  to  the 
lengths  wanted.  They  made  wooden  hinges  and  door-latches 
and  buttons  for  fastening  doors.  They  made  spinning- 
wheels  and  reels  and  looms  and  the  things  used  with  them. 
They  made  various  kinds  of  wooden  bowls  and  trays  and 
spoons  for  household  use.  They  learned  from  the  Indians 
how  to  make  brooms  by  taking  the  length  of  a  small  birch 
tree  and  slitting  the  lower  end  into  a  brush  and  shaping  the 
upper  end  into  a  handle ;  they  also  learned  to  make  a  broom 
by  tying  about  a  handle  hemlock  branches  together  for  the 
brush.  They  made  spoons  from  clam-shells  set  in  split 
sticks.  They  used  gourd-shells  for  bowls  and  skimmers  and 
dipper  and  bottles  and  pumpkin-shells  for  seed  and  grain 
holders.  Turkey-wings  were  used  for  hearth-brushes.  There 
was  one  implement  that  the  colonist  in  his  frontier  life  spent 
much  time  on  and  that  was  the  powder-horn.  "Months  of 
the  patient  work  of  every  spare  moment  was  spent  in  beauti- 
fying them,  and  their  quaintness,  variety,  and  individuality 
are  a  never-ceasing  delight  to  the  antiquary.  Maps,  plans, 
legends,  verses,  portraits,  landscapes,  family  history,  crests, 
dates  of  births,  marriages  and  deaths,  lists  of  battles,  patriotic 
and  religious  sentiments,  all  may  be  found  on  powder-horns. 
They  have  in  many  cases  proved  valuable  historical  records, 
and  have  sometimes  been  the  only  records  of  events."  ^^^ 

Boys'  Work  and  Manufactures.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  great  men  arose  in  the  early  history  of  our  country, 
for  the  young  were  so  trained  to  work  that  the  whole 
physical  being  of  the  boy  was  cultivated,  and  so  when  a  great 
brain  came  there  was  a  sound  body  in  which  to  keep  it  and 
help  it.  A  bo3^'s  life  on  a  farm  is  thus  described  by  one 
who  went  through  it: 

"The  boy  was  taught  that  laziness  was  the  worst  form  of 
original  sin.  Hence  he  must  rise  early  and  make  himself 
useful  before  he  went  to  school,  must  be  diligent  there  in 
study,  and  promptly  home  to  do  'chores'  at  evening.     His 

*"Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  321. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  423 

whole  time  out  of  school  must  be  filled  up  with  some  service, 
such  as  bringing  in  fuel  for  the  day,  cutting  potatoes  for 
the  sheep,  feeding  the  swine,  watering  the  horses,  picking 
the  berries,  gathering  the  vegetables,  spooling  the  yarn.  He 
was  expected  never  to  be  reluctant  and  not  often  tired.  "^^' 

Not  onty  did  the  boy  have  to  work  hard,  but  also,  at 
least  in  New  England,  he  had  to  provide  his  own  spending 
money,  and  various  were  the  ways  he  devised  to  obtain  it. 
The  boy's  jack-knife  was  a  great  instrument  and  highly 
prized,  for  with  it  he  not  only  made  things  for  his  own  use 
but  also  to  sell  to  procure  spending  money.  AVith  kriives 
and  mallets  the  boys  split  out  shoe-pegs  from  maple  sticks. 
They  made  and  set  teeth  in  wool-cards.  They  made  traps 
and  caught  wild  animals.  They  made  birch  splinter  brooms. 
One  man  stated  in  London  during  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  that  when  a  boy  in  New  Hampshire  his 
only  spending  money  was  earned  by  making  these  brooms 
and  carrying  them  on  his  back  ten  miles  to  town  to  sell 
them.  The  boys  whittled  cheese-ladders  and  cheese-hoops 
and  butter-paddles  for  their  mothers'  use.  They  collected 
the  bristles  from  the  hogs  at  hog-killing  time  and  sold  them 
for  brush-making.  They  gathered  nuts  and  berries  and  wild 
cherries,  the  cherries  being  used  in  making  cherry-rum  and 
cherry-bounce.  Tying  onions  was  another  means  of  money- 
making.  The  older  boys  sometimes  made  staves  and  shingles. 
Where  a  boy  could  turn  a  hand  for  making  a  little  money 
for  himself  he  did  it. 

Girls'  and  Women's  Work.  In  the  colonial  days  everybody 
worked  and  the  girls  and  women  did  their  share  of  it.  The 
following  quotations  well  show  this.  In  the  last  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  qualifications  of  a  housekeeper  were 
such  as  asked  for  in  the  following  advertisement : 

"Wanted  at  a  Seat  about  half  a  day's  journey  from  Phila- 
delphia, on  which  are  good  improvements  and  domestics,  A 
single  Woman  of  unsullied  Reputation,  an  affable,  cheerful, 
active  and  amiable  Disposition;  cleanly,  industrious,  per- 
fectly qualified  to  direct  and  manage  the  female  Concerns 
of  country  business,  as  raising  small  stock,  dairying,  mar- 
keting, combing,  carding,  spinning,  knitting,  sewing,  pick- 
ling, preserving,  etc.,  and  occasionally  to  instruct  two  young 
Ladies  in  those  Branches  of  Oeconomy,  who,  with  their 
father,  compose  the  Family.     Such  a  person  will  be  treated 

^^  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  307. 


424  The  Historical  Child 

with  respect  and  esteem,  and  meet  with  every  encouragement 
due  to  such  a  character. "  ^^^    , 

"There  is,  in  the  library  of  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society,  a  diary  written  by  a  young  girl  of  Colchester,  Con- 
necticut, in  the  year  1775.  Her  name  was  Abigail  Foote. 
She  set  down  her  daily  work,  and  the  entries  run  like  this: 

'Fix'd  gown  for  Prude, — Mend  Mother's  Riding-hood, — 
Spun  short  thread, — Fix'd  two  gowns  for  Welsh's  girls, — 
Carded  tow, — Spun  linen, — Worked  on  Cheese-basket, — 
Hatehel'd  flax  with  Hannah,  we  did  51  lbs.  apiece, — Pleated 
and  ironed, — Read  a  Sermon  of  Doddridge's, — Spooled  a 
piece, — Milked  the  cows, — Spun  linen,  did  50  knots, — Made  a 
Broom  of  Guinea  wheat  straw, — Spun  thread  to  whiten, — 
Set  a  Red  dye, — Had  two  Scholars  from  Mrs.  Taylor's, — I 
carded  two  pounds  of  whole  wool  and  felt  Nationly, — Spun 
harness  twine, — Scoured  the  pewter.' 

"She  tells  also  of  washing,  cooking,  knitting,  weeding  the 
garden,  picking  geese,  etc.,  and  many  visits  to  her  friends. 
She  dipped  candles  in  the  spring,  and  made  soap  in  the 
autumn. ' ' "° 

Knitting  was  an  accomplisment  of  every  girl  in  New 
England  and  among  the  Dutch  in  New  York  and  probably 
with  every  other  girl  in  all  the  colonies.  Little  girls  were 
taught  to  knit  as  soon  as  they  could  hold  the  needles,  and  at 
four  years  of  age  they  could  knit  stockings  and  mittens. 
They  knit  in  wool  and  silk,  doing  fine  knitting  with  many  in- 
tricate and  elaborate  stitches.  "A  beautiful  pair  of  long 
silk  stockings  of  open-work  design  has  initials  knit  on  the 
instep,  which  were  the  wedding  hose  of  a  bride  of  the  year 
1760 ;  and  the  silk  for  them  was  raised,  wound,  and  spun 
by  the  bride's  sister,  a  girl  of  fourteen,  who  also  did  the 
exquisite  knitting,""^ 

These  colonial  women  were  thirfty  and  saving,  being  well 
prepared  to  care  for  the  garments  needing  repair,  as  is 
shown  from  an  advertisement  in  the  New  York  Gazette  of 
April  1,  1751: 

"Elizabeth  Boyd  gives  notice  that  she  will  as  usual  graft 
Pieces  in  knit  Jackets  and  Breeches  not  to  be  discern 'd,  also 
to  graft  and  foot  Stockings,  and  Gentlemen's  Gloves,  mit- 
tens or  Muffatees  made  out  of  old  Stockings,  or  runs  them  in 

""  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  252. 

"°/&id.,  253. 

'"  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  339, 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  425 

the  Heels.  She  likewise  makes  Children's  Stockings  out  of 
Old  Ones.""^ 

The  one  kind  of  work  that  all  the  colonial  women  reveled 
in  and  which  allowed  them  to  display  their  love  of  color, 
their  skill  in  needle-craft,  and  their  thrift  in  using  up  odds 
and  ends,  was  that  of  quilt-making.  In  the  early  days 
cotton  goods  were  scarce  and  so  the  quilts  were  made  from 
woolen  garments  and  pieces,  and  all  kinds  of  garments  and 
remnants  were  used,  as,  the  old  discarded  militia  uniforms, 
worn-out  flannel  sheets,  old  petticoats,  coat  and  cloak  linings, 
and  any  other  things  that  could  not  be  further  worn.  These 
were  thoroughly  washed  and  where  needed  dyed  with  home- 
dyes  and  then  pressed  out  and  cut  into  quilting  pieces. 
Later,  cottons  and  linens  were  more  readily  procured  and 
often  the  very  best  stuffs  were  used,  for  they  prided  them- 
selves on  the  beauty  of  the  pieces  and  their  arrangement  and 
the  careful  stitching.  Not  only  did  the  making  of  quilts  afford 
a  chance  to  use  up  the  material  that  could  not  be  used  other- 
wise and  thus  make  coverings  of  value  and  warmth,  it  also 
gave  to  the  women  the  opportunity  for  coming  together  and 
enjojdng  themselves,  and  so  quilting-bees  became  one  of  the 
most  social  and  enjoyable  occasions. 

One  of  the  great  industries  of  the  women  was  that  of 
soap-making.  The  refuse  grease  from  cooking,  butcherings, 
and  the  like,  was  stored  up  through  the  winter  as  was  also 
the  wood-ashes  from  the  fire-place  for  the  Spring  soap- 
making.  From  the  ashes  they  obtained  lye  by  pouring  water 
over  the  ashes  in  barrels  set  on  boards  with  grooves  in  them 
and  letting  it  filter  out  at  the  bottom  to  be  caught  in  vessels 
set  under  the  ends  of  the  boards.  The  lye  thus  obtained 
was  poured  over  the  grease  in  a  great  pot  and  boiled  over  a 
fire  out  of  doors.  The  soft  soap  thus  made  was  used  for 
household  purposes,  especially  in  the  washing  of  clothing, 
which  was  done  usually  once  a  month  and  in  some  house- 
holds once  in  three  months,  the  soiled  clothing  having  been 
allowed  to  accumulate  and  be  stored  away  to  be  washed 
together  on  one  great  wash-day.  Another  kind  of  labor  in 
which  the  women  engaged  was  the  picking  of  the  domestic 
geese,  which  were  raised  for  the  feathers  rather  than  for 
food.  The  feathers  were  greatly  desired  for  pillows  and 
beds  and  the  quills  for  pens. 

Among  the  industries  in  which  women  engaged  were  those 

^*^Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  169. 


426  The  Historical  Child 

of  flax-culture  and  spinning,  wool-culture  and  spinning,  and 
hand-weaving.  The  women  and  children  aided  in  the  cul- 
ture of  the  fiax  and  did  quite  a  good  deal  of  the  work  in  its 
preparation  and  almost  all  the  spinning.  Women  and  chil- 
dren, too,  did  a  great  deal  in  helping  in  the  wool-culture 
and  spinning  and  weaving.  In  those  early  days  all  in  the 
family  could  help  and  a  family  at  work  is  well  portrayed  in 
the  following. 

"The  wool  industry  easily  furnished  home  occupation  to 
an  entire  family.  Often  by  the  bright  fire-light  in  the  early 
evening  every  member  of  the  household  might  be  seen  at 
work  on  the  various  stages  of  wool  manufacture  or  some  of 
its  necessary  adjuncts,  and  varied  and  cheerful  industrial 
sounds  fill  the  room.  The  old  grandmother,  at  light  and  easy 
work,  is  carding  the  wool  into  fleecy  rolls,  seated  next  the 
fire;  for,  as  the  ballad  says  'she  was  old  and  saw  right 
dimly.'  The  mother,  stepping  as  lightly  as  one  of  her  girls, 
spins  the  rolls  into  Avoolen  yarn  on  the  great  wheel.  The 
oldest  daughter  sits  at  the  clock-reel,  whose  continuous  buzz 
and  occasional  click  mingles  with  the  humming  rise  and  fall 
of  the  wool-wheel,  and  the  irritating  scratch,  scratch,  of  the 
cards.  A  little  girl  at  a  small  wheel  is  filling  quills  with 
woolen  yam  for  the  loom,  not  a  skilled  work;  the  irregular 
sound  shows  her  interaiittent  industry.  The  father  is  set- 
ting fresh  teeth  in  a  wool-card,  while  the  boys  are  whittling 
hand-reels  and  loom-spools. ' '  ^*^ 

After  the  first  years  in  the  new  country,  when  all  time 
and  labor  would  be  consumed  in  canning  on  the  plain  neces- 
saries of  life,  women  began  to  enter  more  into  fancy  lines 
of  work,  and  during  later  colonial  times  the  women  and  girls 
did  quite  a  lot  of  fine  work  in  sewing,  knitting,  embroidering, 
and  other  kinds  of  decorative  work.  There  arose  schools  for 
teaching  girls  and  young  women  feather-work,  fancy  knit- 
ting, painting  on  glass,  embroidery,  netting,  fine  sewing, 
wax-work,  the  making  of  artificial  fruits  and  flowers,  paper- 
cutting,  and  many  other  things. 

They  made  most  beautiful  embroidery.  Articles  of  cloth- 
ing had  vines,  trees,  fruits,  flowers,  and  other  designs  worked 
on  them  and  also  words  and  mottoes  and  texts  from  the 
Bible.  Some  of  the  christening  caps  and  robes  of  the  babies 
had  beautiful  embroidered  work  on  them.  Among  the  em- 
broidered  goods  of  those  days  were  the  mourning  pieces. 

**^  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  203. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  427 

They  had  worked  on  them  weeping  willows  and  urns,  tombs 
and  mourning  figures,  epitaphs,  and  names  of  deceased  mem- 
bers of  the  family  or  friends  with  dates  of  their  deaths. 

One  piece  of  embroidering  which  was  done  by  every  little 
girl  in  families  of  standing  was  the  making  of  a  sampler, 
which  consisted  of  a  long  and  narrow,  or  nearly  square,  piece 
of  linen  canvas  with  designs  worked  in  colored  silks  and 
wools.  These  were  among  the  works  of  children  in  early 
colonial  times,  as  there  is  one  still  preserved  made  by  a 
daughter  of  a  Pilgrim  Father  and  another  bearing  on  it  the 
date  of  1654.  In  the  older  samplers  there  was  little  bother 
with  realism  in  using  the  colors  as  a  green  horse  might  be 
alongside  a  blue  tree  and  the  green  horse  might  have  his 
legs  worked  in  red.  On  them  were  worked  crude  or  strangely 
represented  trees  and  fruits  and  flowers  and  animals.  There 
were  verses  embroidered  and  portions  of  hymns  and  some- 
times pictures  portraying  family  or  public  events.  Some 
were  quite  pretentious,  one  such  sampler  shows  the  Old 
South  Church  with  a  coach  passing  by  it  and  ladies  and 
gentlemen  on  horses  and  afoot  in  the  costumes  of  the  time, 
and  even  a  negro  lad  holding  a  horse,  and  birds  flying  in 
the  air  above  them. 

Laces  were  made  for  using  on  pillows  and  made  on  net 
for  veils  and  collars  and  caps.  "Girls  spent  years  working 
on  a  single  collar  or  tucker.  Sometimes  medallions  of  this 
net  lace  were  embroidered  down  upon  fine  linen  laAvn,  I 
have  infants'  caps  of  this  beautiful  work,  finer  than  any 
needlework  of  to-day. ' '  ^** 

Netting  was  another  of  their  arts,  the  net  being  used  on 
coverelets  and  curtains  and  valances,  this  kind  being  made 
of  cotton  thread  or  twine,  while  a  finer  kind  was  made  of 
silk  or  fine  cotton  for  trimming  sacks  and  petticoats;  also 
netted  purses  and  work-bags  as  well  as  knitted  ones  were 
made.  On  small  looms  they  made  tapes  and  braids  and  rib- 
bons for  use  as  glove-ties,  shoe-strings,  hair-laces,  stay-laces, 
garters,  hatbands,  belts,  etc. 

They  did  painting  on  glass,  representing  fruits  and  flow- 
ers, and  an  especial  subject  was  coats  of  arms.  They  made 
feather-work,  which  consisted  in  pasting  small  feathers  or 
portions  of  feathers  together  to  form  flowers  for  use  on  head- 
dresses and  bonnets.  Another  form  of  decorative  work  in- 
dulged in  by  colonial  women  was  the  cutting  of  designs  out 

»"Earle,  Child  Hfe  in  colonial  days,  341. 


428  The  Historical  Child 

of  stiff  paper  with  scissors.  They  cut  out  coats  of  arms, 
valentines,  wreaths  of  flowers,  marine  views,  religious  sym- 
bols, animals,  landscapes,  and  other  designs.  They  were 
sometimes  mounted  on  black  paper,  framed  and  glazed,  and 
given  as  presents  to  friends. 

Religion.  The  first  colonists  of  all  parts  were  religiously 
inclined.  Captain  John  Smith  tells  of  the  first  colonists 
in  Virginia:  "We  had  daily  Common  Prayer  morning  and 
evening ;  every  Sunday  two  sermons ;  and  every  three  months 
a  holy  Communion  till  our  Minister  died ;  but  our  Prayers 
daily  with  an  Homily  on  Sundays  we  continued  two  or  three 
years  after,  till  more  Preachers  came."^*^  They  held  to  the 
Church  of  England  and  believed  in  strict  observance  of 
Sunday.  This  day  was  kept  for  religious  services  and  all 
were  compelled  to  go  to  church  except  the  sick  and  journeys 
were  forbidden  and  all  work  not  strictly  necessary  and  all 
sports,  such  as  shooting,  fishing,  game-playing,  etc.  In  New 
Netherlands  there  was  likewise  strict  observance  of  Sunday 
by  the  Dutch  and  working,  playing  in  the  streets,  fishing, 
hunting,  going  on  pleasure  trips,  and  such  like,  were  strictly 
forbidden.  With  the  Puritans  in  New  England  the  strictest 
observance  of  Sunday  as  a  holy  day  was  rigidly  enforced. 
No  work  on  the  farm  was  permitted  on  that  day  nor  any 
pleasures  whatsoever  in  the  way  of  fishing,  shooting,  sailing, 
dancing,  jumping,  and  the  like,  nor  riding  except  going  to 
or  from  church.  The  laws  for  this  day  were  rigidly  en- 
forced as  is  shown  from  their  writings  on  the  subject  and 
court  records.  Beside  the  three  faiths  as  represented  above, 
there  were  the  Roman  Catholics  in  Maryland,  the  Quakers  in 
Pennsylvania,  the  Baptists  in  Rhode  Island,  and  Huguenots, 
Lutherans,  j\Ioravians,  AValdenses,  Walloons,  Jews,  and 
others,  in  the  different  colonies.  There  was  room  for  any 
and  all  of  them  and  although  there  were  persecutions  yet  it 
did  not  destroy  any  faith  but  caused  the  people  to  move  out 
into  new  fields  where  they  would  be  unmolested. 

The  first  places  of  worship  in  Virginia  were  thus  described 
by  Caj)tain  John  Smith: 

"Wee  did  hang  an  awning,  which  is  an  old  saile,  to  three 
of  foure  trees  to  shadow  us  from  the  Sunne;  our  walls  were 
railes  of  wood ;  our  seats  unhewed  trees  till  we  cut  plankes ; 
our  Pulpit  a  bar  of  wood  nailed  to  two  neighbouring  trees. 
In  foul  weather  we  shifted  into  an  old  rotten  tent ;  this  came 

"^  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  dajs,  381. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  429 

by  way  of  adventure  for  new.  This  was  our  Church  till  we 
built  a  homely  thing  like  a  barne  set  upon  Cratehets,  cov- 
ered with  rafts,  sedge,  and  earth;  so  also  was  the  walls;  the 
best  of  our  houses  were  of  like  curiosity,  that  could  neither 
well  defend  from  wind  nor  rain. ' '  ^*® 

In  a  short  time  a  timber  church  sixty  feet  long  was  built 
and  some  years  afterward  this  church  was  replaced  by  a 
brick  one.  Some  of  the  churches  in  the  ISouthern  colonies 
were  modeled  in  shape  after  the  old  English  churches  and 
were  built  of  stone,  but  most  of  them  were  wooden  build- 
ings without  "spires  or  towers  or  steeples." 

In  1646  the  Dutch  built  a  little  wooden  church  in  Fort 
Orange.  The  first  church  at  Albany  was  built  in  1657  and 
it  was  simply  a  blockliouse  with  loopholes  for  permitting 
guns  to  be  tired  through  in  case  of  an  Indian  attack  and 
three  small  cannon  were  placed  on  the  roof.  The  first  church 
in  New  Amsterdam  was  built  of  stone  and  it  was  seventy- 
two  feet  long.  The  first  church  in  Brooklyn  was  built  in 
1666  and  it  had  thick  stone  walls  with  a  steep  peaked  roof 
with  an  open  belfry  on  top.  Many  of  the  old  Dutch  churches 
were  six-sided  or  eight-sided  with  a  high,  steep,  pyramidal 
roof,  topped  with  a  belfry  on  which  was  a  weather-vane. 

Not  long  after  landing  at  Plymouth  the  Puritans  built 
a  fort,  which  was  used  as  a  Lord's  Day  meeting-place  till  a 
meeting-house  was  built  in  1648.  As  other  settlements  were 
made,  religious  services  were  at  first  held  in  tents  or  under 
trees  and  where  a  settler  had  a  roomy  house  this  often  was 
used.  The  first  meeting-house  at  Boston  had  mud  walls,  a 
thatched  roof,  and  earthen  floor,  which  was  used  till  1640. 

The  first  meeting-houses  in  New  England  were  square  and 
made  of  logs  with  the  spaces  betwen  the  logs  filled  with 
clay  and  with  steep  roofs  which  were  thatched  with  reeds 
and  long  grass  and  with  a  beaten  earth  for  a  floor.  These 
buildings  were  often  quite  small,  one  having  been  thirty-six 
feet  long,  twenty  feet  wide,  and  twelve  feet  high,  and  another 
was  but  twenty-six  feet  long  and  twenty  feet  wide.  Later 
these  were  replaced  by  larger  and  better  buildings  and  these 
early  rude  structures  were  used  for  granaries  and  store- 
houses. 

The  second  form  of  meeting-houses  was  a  square  wooden 
building  having  a  truncated  pyramidal  roof  with  a  belfry 
or  turret.    One   of   this   type,   built   at    Ilingham   in   1681, 

*^'Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  381. 


430  The  Historical  Child 

known  as  the  "Old  Ship,"  is  still  in  existence.  The  largest 
and  finest  of  this  second  type  was  the  First  Church  at  Bos- 
ton, a  large  square  brick  building,  built  in  1713,  and  which 
was  used  till  18U8. 

The  third  type  of  New  England  colonial  meeting-houses 
had  a  lofty  wooden  steeple  at  one  end,  of  which  the  old 
South  Church  at  Boston,  a  well-known  historic  building,  is 
a  good  example. 

In  the  South  the  churches  were  often  placed  by  the  water- 
side and  people  came  to  them  over  the  water  in  various  kinds 
of  vessels.  In  New  England  the  first  meeting-houses  were 
often  built  in  the  valleys  or  the  meadow-lands  and  the 
houses  of  the  settlers  were  built  about  them.  As  the  popula- 
tion increased  there  could  no  longer  be  land  available  for  all 
in  the  valleys  and  the  houses  were  built  out  near  watering 
places  and  pasturage  for  convenience  and  so  the  meeting- 
houses began  to  be  placed  on  hill-tops.  This  was  done  so 
as  to  be  a  lookout  for  danger  from  Indians  and  also  so  it 
could  be  seen  from  all  parts  of  the  country  as  the  people  had 
to  journey  through  narrow  roads  and  bridle-paths  obscured 
by  trees  and  brush.  Too,  there  was  a  pride  in  such  a  loca- 
tion, to  show  off  a  fine  meeting-house,  which  would  thus  be 
visible  for  many  miles  around. 

The  old  New  England  meeting-houses  were  used  for 
various  purposes,  one  of  the  strangest  being  for  the  nailing 
of  the  heads  of  wolves  to  the  logs  on  the  outside.  Wolves 
were  so  numerous  and  so  destructive  and  so  feared  that 
rewards  were  paid  for  their  killing  and  to  show  this  the 
heads  were  nailed  to  the  outer  walls  of  the  meeting-house. 
This  was  all  the  decoration  that  the  outer  walls  of  the  build- 
ing had  for  near  a  century  as  during  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury it  was  considered  vain  and  extravagant  to  paint  them 
but  by  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  paint  became 
cheaper  and  more  plentiful  and  the  meeting-houses  began 
not  only  to  be  painted  but  also  in  conspicuous  colors  and 
towns  began  to  vie  with  one  another  in  the  most  striking 
displays.  One  new  meeting-house  was  painted  a  bright  yel- 
low and  soon  others  were  likewise  adorned.  "Brooklyn 
church,  then,  in  1762,  ordered  that  the  outside  of  its  meet- 
ing-house be  'culered'  in  the  approved  fashion.  The  body 
of  the  house  was  painted  a  bright  orange;  the  doors  and 
'bottom  boards'  a  warm  chocolate  color;  the  'window-jets,' 
corner-boards,   and   weather-boards   white.      "What   a   bright 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  431 

nosegay  of  color!  As  a  crowning  glory  Brooklyn  people 
put  up  an  'Eleclarick  Eod'  on  the  gorgeous  edifice,  and 
proudly  boasted  that  Brooklyn  meeting-house  was  the  'new- 
est, biggest  and  yallowest'  in  the  county.  "^*^ 

There  was  no  shade  about  the  early  meeting-houses  in 
New  England  as  the  trees  were  cut  down  around  it  for  fear 
of  forest  fires.  There  were  no  curtains  nor  window-blinds,  so 
that  the  heat  and  blazing  light  in  summer  would  make  it  bad 
for  all  in  the  church.  They  did  often  have  heavy  outside 
shutters  but  they  could  not  be  closed  during  services  as  the 
room  would  then  be  made  too  dark  for  the  minister  to  see 
to  read  his  sermon.  Later  the  forests  grew  again  and  they 
were  not  cut  away  nor  cleared  up  and  the  meeting-house 
would  thus  become  dark  and  gloomy.  Oiled  paper  was  used 
in  the  windows  of  these  early  meeting-houses  and  later  when 
glass  came  into  use  it  was  nailed  in  instead  of  being  puttied. 

The  early  meeting-house  of  the  Puritans  in  New  England 
were  of  a  very  simple  interior  with  raftered  walls  and  sanded 
puncheon  floors  or  earthen  floors.  The  early  Dutch  churches 
in  New  Netherlands  also  were  plain  and  they  were  kept  in 
the  greatest  cleanliness,  scrubbed  often  and  floors  sanded 
with  fine  beach-sand.  The  churches  of  the  Southern  colonies 
were  usually  better  furnished  and  flowers  were  used  for  deco- 
rations, which  was  never  the  case  with  the  Puritans.  The 
pulpits  in  all  the  churches  were  rather  pretentious  affairs, 
being  elevated  above  the  floor,  enclosed,  with  a  narrow  flight 
of  stairs  leading  up  to  them.  At  least  in  the  early  Puritan 
churches  there  was  a  sounding-board  placed  above  the  pulpit, 
which  was  a  board  supported  from  the  roof  by  a  slender 
iron  rod. 

In  the  earliest  meeting-houses  in  New  England  the  seats 
were  made  of  rough  hand-riven  boards  placed  on  legs  and 
without  backs.  Later  there  were  pews  with  narrow  seats 
around  the  sides  and  high  partition  walls  between.  In  the 
early  Dutch  churches  the  men  had  places  in  pews  around  the 
walls  while  chairs  were  placed  in  the  center  of  the  church 
for  the  women  to  occupy.  In  some  of  the  Virginia  churches 
the  seats  were  comfortably  cushioned.  In  later  times  in  all 
the  churches  the  pews  were  carefully  assigned  and  persons 
who  crowded  into  pews  above  their  station  were  uncere- 
moniously put  out  by  those  in  charge. 

The  meeting-houses  in  New  England  were  wholly  without 

^"  Earle,  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,  15. 


432  The  Historical  Child 

means  of  heating  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. Throughout  the  long  and  tedious  services  during  the 
coldest  weather  of  a  bitter  climate,  attendants  at  the  meet- 
ings had  to  get  along  as  best  they  could.  The  men  wore  their 
heaviest  clothing  during  the  services.  The  minister,  too, 
would  keep  himself  wrapped  up  while  in  the  pulpit  just  as 
on  his  way  to  the  meeting-house.  The  women  in  the  earlier 
times  dressed  to  suit  the  temperature,  but  as  wealth  came 
fashion  also  entered  in  and  thin  silk  hose,  cloth  or  kid  or 
silk  slippers,  linen  underclothing,  dresses  with  elbow  sleeves 
and  round  low  necks,  and  a  thin  cloth  cape  or  mantle  for  the 
shoulders  was  too  often  in  midwinter  the  Sunday  apparel. 
The  women  did  protect  their  heads  with  caps  and  mufflers 
and  veils  and  their  hands  with  gloves  and  muffs. 

The  officials  must  be  given  credit  for  try'ing  to  keep  the 
meeting-house  free  from  the  winds  as  well  as  possible,  as  in 
some  places  it  was  ordered  that  during  the  cold  weather  "no 
doors  be  opened  to  the  windward  and  only  one  door  to  the 
leeward."  In  1725  in  one  place  it  was  ordered  that  the 
"several  doors  of  the  meeting-house  be  taken  care  of  and 
kept  shut  in  very  cold  and  windy  seasons  according  to  the 
lying  of  the  wind  from  time  to  time ;  and  that  people  in  such 
windy  weather  come  in  at  the  leeward  doors  only,  and  take 
care  that  they  are  easily  shut  both  to  prevent  the  breaking 
of  the  doors  and  the  making  of  a  noise. ' '  ^^^ 

In  come  of  the  early  log  meeting-houses  the  skins  of 
wolves  and  other  fur-bearing  animals  were  made  into  bags 
which  were  nailed  or  tied  to  the  benches  in  such  a  way  as 
to  let  the  people  thrust  their  feet  into  them  for  warmth.  In 
the  bitterest  weather  foot-stoves  were  taken  to  the  meeting- 
houses for  the  use  of  the  women  and  children.  During  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  stoves  began  to  appear  in 
the  meeting-houses  in  New  England,  perhaps  the  first  stove 
used  having  been  at  Hadley  in  1734.  But  there  was  a  hard 
fight  to  introduce  stoves  and  it  was  near  another  century 
later  before  they  came  into  general  use. 

If  the  meeting-house  should  have  been  situated  in  a  town, 
at  noon  the  people  went  to  their  homes  or  to  the  tavern 
or  to  neighbors'  houses  in  that  vicinity  to  eat  their  dinners 
and  to  warm  themselves.  If  the  meeting-house  in  the  coun- 
try was  near  the  home  of  a  hospitable  farmer  the  congrega- 
tion would  go  there  at  noon.     But  too  often  the  meeting- 

^*^  Earle,  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,  95. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  433 

house  was  away  off  at  the  top  of  a  hill  or  iu  an  out-of-the-way 
place  and  so  there  would  be  built  near  it  a  rough-like  struc- 
ture, known  as  the  "noon-house."  Sometimes  it  was  called 
the  "Sabba-day  house"  and  again  a  "horse-hows,"  this  last 
name  because  in  some  of  the  houses  the  horses  were  placed 
at  one  end.  At  the  other  end  was  built  a  large  rough  stone 
chimney.  Of  severe  Sundays  some  one,  a  servant  or  an  older 
son,  would  usually  be  sent  at  an  early  hour  to  start  a  good 
fire  in  this  fireplace  for  warming  the  family  after  their  cold 
ride.  At  noon  all  would  repair  to  this  house  for  warmth  and 
for  eating  their  dinner.  Before  starting  for  home  a  warming 
was  again  taken.  Too,  during  the  long  sermons  in  forenoon 
and  afternoon  a  servant  or  some  member  of  the  family  would 
replenish  the  coals  in  the  foot-stoves  from  the  coals  in  the 
fireplace  of  this  noon-house. 

In  front  of  the  meeting-house  there  were  usually  horse- 
blocks, or  stepping-stones,  or  hewn  legs,  for  mounting  their 
horses  as  usually  all  rode.  All  kinds  of  notices  were  posted 
on  the  meeting-house,  notices  of  town-meetings,  prohibitions 
from  selling  guns  and  powder  to  the  Indians,  notices  of  sales 
of  cattle  or  farms,  lists  of  town  officers,  copies  of  the  laws 
against  Sabbath-breaking,  notices  of  intended  marriages, 
and  sometimes  CA^en  scandalous  and  insulting  libels.  Often 
on  the  meeting-house  green  stood  the  stocks,  pillory,  cage, 
and  whipping-post.  The  meeting-house  was  not  only  used 
for  religious  services,  but  also  for  town  meetings  and  like- 
wise as  a  store-house.  Never  having  fire  in  it  nor  about  it, 
it  was  the  safest  place  for  a  powder-magazine  and  some 
place  in  it  was  fitted  up  for  such  purpose.  Also  grain  was 
stored  in  its  loft  and  in  particular  that  which  might  have 
been  given  to  the  minister  as  pay  for  his  services. 

"In  one  church  in  the  Connecticut  valley,  in  a  township 
where  it  was  forbidden  that  tobacco  be  smoked  upon  the 
public  streets,  the  church  loft  was  used  to  dry  and  store  the 
freshly  cut  tobacco-leaves  which  the  inhabitants  sold  to  the 
'ungodly  Dutch.'  Thus  did  greed  for  gain  lead  even  blue 
Connecticut  Christians  to  profane  the  house  of  God. ' '  ^*^ 

There  were  various  ways  in  colonial  times  of  calling  the 
people  to  the  religious  services  of  Sunday  morning.  In 
the  early  times  and  particularly  so  in  New  England,  they 
did  not  always  have  bells  on  the  churches  and  various  de- 
vices were  used  to  let  people  know  when  it  was  time  to  go  to 

"»Earle,  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,  14. 


434  The  Historical  Child 

church.  The  time  of  morning  service  was  usually  about 
nine  o'clock  and  this  was  announced  sometimes  by  the  toot- 
ing of  a  bona  or  the  blowing  of  a  conch-shell  or  the  sounding 
of  a  trumpet.  The  beating  of  a  drum  was  a  very  common 
signal  and  some  also  used  the  firing  of  guns,  in  this  latter 
the  number  of  times  firing  was  different  from  that  signifying 
danger,  so  as  not  to  frighten  the  people.  Sometimes  a  flag 
was  used  to  notify  the  people  of  meeting  time,  having  been 
put  out  when  time  of  notice  arrived  and  left  hanging  out  till 
time  for  the  beginning  of  the  service,  when  the  flag  was 
taken  down.  Some  meeting-houses  were  supplied  with  bel- 
fries from  which  the  conch  or  horn  or  trumpet  was  sounded, 
or  whatever  signal  was  used,  and  in  other  places  a  platform 
was  made  upon  top  of  the  meeting-houses  for  this  purpose. 
When  bells  were  used,  in  the  early  churches  there  were  often 
no  towers  in  which  to  place  them  and  they  were  hung  on 
trees  near  the  meeting-house. 

At  the  first  signal  from  conch  or  trumpet  or  horn  or 
drum,  the  people  would  be  seen  starting  out  from  their/ 
homes.  With  some  communities  it  was  the  custom  for  the 
congregation  to  stop  at  the  church  door  and  wait  until  the 
minister  and  his  wife  arrived  and  passed  into  the  house  and 
then  all  followed,  of  course  the  boys  hanging  back  and 
coming  in  at  the  very  last  moment,  shuffling  and  scraping  and 
clattering  with  their  heavy  boots  as  they  went  up  the  stairs 
to  their  place  in  the  loft.  Other  congregations  entered  the 
church  as  they  came  and  then  all  arose  as  the  minister  en- 
tered and  remained  standing  till  he  went  into  the  pulpit 
and  then  sat  down  as  he  did.  It  was  also  the  custom  for  the 
congregation  to  remain  standing  in  the  pews  at  the  close  of 
the  service  till  the  minister  had  come  down  from  the  pulpit, 
joined  his  wife,  and  passed  out  to  the  church-porch,  there  to 
greet  the  people  as  they  would  come  out  of  the  church. 

It  would  seem  that  the  most  important  officer  in  church 
and  public  life  in  New  England  was  the  tithing-man.  "He 
was  in  a  degree  a  constable,  a  selectman,  a  teacher,  a  tax- 
collector,  an  inspector,  a  sexton,  a  home-watcher,  and  above 
all,  a  Puritan  Bumble,  whose  motto  was  Hie  et  iihique."  ^^'^ 
Among  his  duties  were  the  seeing  that  the  children  learned 
the  church  catechism,  looking  out  that  people  went  to  church, 
inspecting  the  taverns  to  note  that  they  were  kept  in  an 
orderly    manner    and    did    not    sell    liquors    to    disorderly 

"oEarle,  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,  76. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  435 

persons,  and  watching  that  boys  and  other  persons  should  not 
go  swimming  in  the  water  on  week  days.  His  most  important 
duty,  perhaps,  was  that  of  keeping  order  and  proper  decorum 
in  the  meeting-house  by  beating  out  the  dogs,  prodding  the 
noisy  boys,  and  awakening  the  sleeping  adults.  For  this 
latter  he  had  a  long  staff  with  a  knob  on  one  end  to  tap  the 
sleeping  men  while  on  the  other  end  was  a  fox-tail  to  dangle 
in  the  face  of  the  sleeping  women.  The  following  from  a 
journal  of  those  early  days  tells  how  well  he  performed  his 
duties  and  some  of  the  effects  thereof. 

"June  3,  1646. — Allen  Bridges  hath  bin  chose  to  wake 
ye  sleepers  in  meeting.  And  being  much  proude  of  his 
place,  must  needs  have  a  fox  taile  fixed  to  ye  ende  of  a  long 
staff  wherewith  he  may  brush  ye  faces  of  them  yt  will  have 
napps  in  time  of  discourse,  likewise  a  sharpe  thorne  whereby 
he  may  prieke  such  as  be  most  sound.  On  ye  last  Lord  his  day, 
as  hee  strutted  about  ye  meeting-house,  he  did  spy  IMr.  Tom- 
lins  sleeping  with  much  comfort,  hys  head  kept  steadie  by 
being  in  ye  corner,  and  his  hand  grasping  ye  rail.  And 
soe  spying,  Allen  did  quickly  thrust  his  staff  behind  Dame 
Ballard  and  give  him  a  grievous  prick  upon  ye  hand. 
Whereupon  Mr.  Tomlins  did  spring  vpp  mch  above  ye  floore 
and  with  terrible  force  strike  hj^s  hand  against  ye  wall; 
and  also,  to  ye  great  wonder  of  all,  prophanlie  exclaim  in 
a  loud  voice,  curse  ye  wood-chuck,  he  dreaming  so  it  seemed 
yt  a  wood-chuck  had  seized  and  bit  his  hand.  But  on 
coming  to  know  where  he  was,  and  ye  greate  scandall  he 
had  committed,  he  seemed  much  abashed,  but  did  not  speak. 
And  I  think  he  will  not  soon  again  goe  to  sleepe  in  meet- 

Among  the  Dutch  in  New  Amsterdam  there  was  a  some- 
what similar  officer,  "the  voorleezer,  or  chorister,  who  was 
also  generally  the  bell-ringer,  sexton,  grave-digger,  funeral 
inviter,  schoolmaster,  and  sometimes  town  clerk.  He  'tuned 
the  psalm';  turned  the  hour-glass;  gave  out  the  psalms  on  a 
hanging-board  to  the  congregation ;  read  the  Bible ;  gave  up 
notices  to  the  dominie  by  sticking  the  papers  in  the  end  of 
a  cleft  stick  and  holding  it  up  to  the  high  pulpit.  "^^^ 

The  ministers  among  the  Puritans  in  New  England  were 
very  greatly  considered.  The  laity  who  were  bold  enough 
to  criticize  or  disparage  the  minister  or  his  teachings  were 

^^'  Earle,  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,  68. 
^■'^  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  386. 


436  The  Historical  Child 

severely  punished.  A  woman  who  spoke  harshly  of  her  min- 
ister had  her  tongue  placed  in  a  cleft  stick  and  made  to  stand 
thus  in  a  public  place.  A  man  for  declaring  that  he  received 
no  profit  from  his  minister's  sermons  was  fined  and  severely 
whipped.  Worse  than  bodily  punishment  was  excommunica- 
tion, for  if  a  minister  pronounced  such  upon  a  member  of  his 
congregation  he  was  excluded  from  partaking  of  the  sacra- 
ment and  the  people  of  the  church  refrained  from  all  com- 
munion with  him  in  civil  affairs,  even  from  eating  and 
drinking  with  him.  Yet  with  all  this  great  power  of  the 
ministers  in  early  Puritan  times,  they  were  not  permitted  to 
perform  the  marriage-service,  which  was  wholly  a  civil  affair, 
nor  could  they  pray  or  exhort  at  a  funeral.  The  ordination 
of  so  important  an  officer  as  the  minister  was  a  very  im- 
portant event.  This  was  celebrated  by  a  great  gathering  of 
people  and  ministers  for  many  miles  around.  It  was  a 
deeply  serious  affair  and  yet  a  great  festival  occasion,  for 
frequently  there  was  an  ordination  ball  and  always  an  or- 
dination supper,  where  there  was  a  plenty  and  a  variety  of 
things  to  eat  and  to  drink. 

Although  the  minister's  calling  was  one  of  trust  and 
honor  it  was  not  also  one  of  profit.  The  salary  was  small 
and  paid  in  different  ways,  not  a  large  part  of  it  in  cash. 
It  was  the  universal  custom  to  provide  a  house  for  the 
minister  and  often  this  was  among  the  very  first  houses 
built  in  a  new  town  and  at  its  laying  out  some  of  the  best 
lots  were  set  aside  for  his  use.  He  was  also  provided  with 
free  pasturage  for  his  horse,  the  village  burial-ground  hav- 
ing been  placed  at  his  disposal  for  pasture  land.  In  the 
early  days  a  large  part  of  the  salary  was  paid  in  corn  and 
labor  and  the  amount  for  each  church  member  to  give  was 
fijced  by  the  authorities.  Cord-wood  was  another  common 
contribution,  and  each  male  church-member  was  expected  to 
give  a  load  of  wood  delivered  at  the  door  of  the  parsonage. 
Any  money  contributed  by  strangers  who  chanced  to  attend 
the  services  was  usually  given  to  the  minister.  A  spinning 
bee,  a  forerunner  of  the  donation  party  of  later  times,  was" 
often  held  at  the  home  of  the  minister,  wherein  each  woman 
would  take  her  spinning-wheel  and  flax  and  all  would  spend 
the  day  in  spinning  and  give  the  outcome  to  the  minister's 
family.  Also  the  women  would  meet  and  make  patchwork 
bed-quilts  and  give  them  to  the  minister's  family.  Some 
ministers  would  go  out  among  the  members  of  their  congrega- 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  437 

tions  and  beg  supplies  for  themselves  and  families.  Many  of 
the  ministers  found  it  necessary  to  do  outside  work  to  make 
a  living,  such  as  farming  on  week  days,  taking  young  men 
to  teach  and  to  fit  for  college,  compounding  and  selling 
drugs  and  medicines;  while  some  were  coopers,  carpenters, 
rope-makers,  millers,  and  cobblers.  It  took  great  thrift  and 
economy  on  the  part  of  the  minister  and  his  family  to  get 
along.  The  wife  not  only  had  to  be  zealous  in  religious  prac- 
tices but  also  in  domestic  practices  and  often  she  was  the 
thriftiest  wife  of  the  community.  Every  kind  of  denial  had 
to  be  made  and  yet  with  this  poverty  the  minister's  children 
were  quite  often  well  kept  and  trained  and  many  ministers 
were  enabled  to  help  their  sons  to  obtain  a  college  education. 

Fear  of  the  Indians  did  not  keep  the  Puritans  away 
from  the  meeting-house,  but  it  did  cause  them  to  go  there 
armed.  At  first  each  man  carried  arms  to  church  and  then 
later  a  certain  number  were  detailed  to  arm  themselves.  In 
1642  in  Massachusetts  the  law  provided  for  six  men  to  be 
at  the  meeting-house  with  muskets  and  powder  and  shot. 
The  armed  men  were  placed  near  the  door  so  as  to  be  ready 
to  protect  the  congregation  or  to  rush  out  in  case  of  need. 
When  the  services  were  ended,  the  armed  guards  went  out 
of  the  meeting-house  first  and  then  the  other  men  and  the 
women  and  children  were  last,  thus  to  be  protected.  Too,  it 
was  the  custom  for  the  men  always  to  sit  at  the  door  of  the 
pew,  next  to  the  aisle,  so  they  could  be  ready  to  get  their 
arms  and  rush  out  in  case  of  a  fight.  Also  being  at  the 
door  of  the  pew  the  father  could  better  protect  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  and  a  man  who  would  not  have 
occupied  this  place  would  have  been  considered  a  poor  kind 
of  husband  and  father. 

In  the  early  colonial  days  in  New  England  there  were  two 
services  in  the  meeting-house  on  Sunday,  in  the  forenoon  and 
in  the  afternoon.  The  sermons  were  long,  two  or  three  hours 
not  being  uncommon  and  some  even  ran  up  to  five  hours  in 
length.  Added  to  these  long  sermons  were  long  prayers,  fre- 
quently an  hour  in  length  and  sometimes  even  continuing  for 
three  hours.  At  a  desk  near  the  pulpit  there  was  an  hour- 
glass and  sitting  near  it  was  an  officer  of  the  church  whose 
duty  it  was  to  turn  it  at  the  end  of  the  hour.  During  the 
prayer  the  congregation  stood,  about  its  middle  the  minister 
would  make  a  long  pause  to  let  the  infirm  and  those  ill  sit 
down,  but  all  the  others  remained  standing  till  its  close.    It 


438  The  Historical  Child 

was  the  duty  of  the  tithing-man  to  see  that  no  one  left  the 
house  before  the  close  of  the  services  without  there  was  a 
real  good  reason  and  also  he  was  to  keep  the  congregation 
awake.  These  long  prayers  and  sermons  were  not  disliked 
by  the  congregation,  but  on  the  contrary'  they  considered  it 
a  great  gift  for  the  minister  to  be  able  to  continue  long  in 
prayer  and  a  short  sermon  would  have  been  looked  upon  as 
irreligious  and  lacking  in  reverence,  and  beside  that  was 
for  what  the  minister  was  paid.  "In  every  record  and 
journal  which  I  have  read,  throughout  which  ministers  and 
laymen  recorded  all  the  annoyances  and  opposition  which 
the  preachers  encountered,  I  have  never  seen  one  entry  of 
any  complaint  or  ill-criticism  of  too  long  praying  or  preach- 
ing."^^3 

The  music  of  the  Puritan  meeting-house  is  well  sum- 
marized in  the  following:  "The  singing  of  the  psalms  was 
tedious  and  unmusical,  just  as  it  was  in  churches  of  all  de- 
nominations both  in  America  and  England  at  that  date. 
Singing  was  by  ear  and  very  uncertain,  and  the  congregation 
had  no  notes,  and  many  had  no  psalm-books,  and  hence  no 
words.  So  the  psalms  were  'lined'  or  'deaconed';  that  is,  a 
line  was  read  by  the  deacon,  and  then  sung  by  the  congrega- 
tion. Some  psalms  when  lined  and  sung  occupied  half  an 
hour,  during  which  the  congregation  stood.  There  were  but 
eight  or  nine  tunes  in  general  use,  and  even  these  were  often 
sung  incorrectly.  There  were  no  church  organs  to  help 
keep  the  singers  together,  but  sometimes  pitch-pipes  were 
used  to  set  the  key.  Bass-viols,  clarionets,  and  flutes  were 
played  upon  at  a  later  date  in  meeting  to  help  the  singing. 
Violins  were  too  much  associated  with  dance  music  to  be 
thought  decorous  for  church  music.  Still  the  New  England 
churches  clung  to  and  loved  their  poor  confused  psalm- 
singing  as  one  of  their  few  delights,  and  whenever  a  Puri- 
tan, even  in  road  or  field,  heard  the  distant  sound  of  a  psalm- 
tune  he  removed  his  hat  and  bowed  his  head  in  prayer.  "^^* 

The  Child  and  Reli^on.  The  children  in  the  other  colo- 
nies were  not  so  strictly  reared  as  those  in  Puritan  New 
England.  The  people  in  New  York  enjoined  that  the  con- 
stable attend  church  to  look  after  such  children  as  pro- 
faned the  Sabbath.  In  Albany  complaint  was  made  that 
boys  and  girls  coasted  down  hills  on  Sunday  and  in  some 

^  Earle,  The  Sabbath  in  Puritan  New  England,  81. 
*"  Earle,  Home  life  in  colonial  days,  377. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  439 

other  places  that  the  young  people  violated  the  Sabbath  by 
discoursing  on  vain  things  and  the  running  of  races.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  a  cage  was  placed  in  City  Hall  Park  in 
New  York  for  the  confining  of  boys  who  profaned  the  Sab- 
bath, 

In  the  meeting-house  in  New  England  in  colonial  times  the 
young  men  sat  together  on  one  side  and  the  young  women 
sat  in  a  corresponding  place  on  the  other  side.  The  little 
girls  sat  on  stools  or  low  seats  in  the  pews  with  their  mothers 
or,  if  too  many  of  them  for  place  in  the  pew,  they  would 
sit  out  in  the  aisle,  and  sometimes  there  would  be  a  row 
of  little  girls  on  a  row  of  little  stools  extending  the  full 
length  of  the  aisle.  In  some  of  the  meeting-houses  the  boys 
were  seated  together  on  the  pulpit  and  gallery  stairs,  while 
in  other  houses  a  place  was  made  for  them  in  the  gallery, 
but  wherever  the  place  they  were  all  herded  together. 

The  boys  among  the  Puritans  were  as  other  boys  in  all 
times  and  among  all  peoples,  and  the  huddling  them  to- 
gether in  meeting-houses  only  helped  to  bring  out  their  grow- 
ing physical  activities,  as  the  taking  them  away  from  the 
watchfulness  of  the  parents  gave  them  better  opportunities 
for  expression  of  their  repressed  powers.  One  way  of  doing 
this  was  by  slamming  the  pew-seats  at  the  close  of  prayer 
and  sermon  and  the  vigor  with  which  they  did  this  called 
for  an  order  from  one  church  at  least  that  "The  boys  are 
not  to  wickedly  noise  down  there  pew-seats."  Another  pas- 
time was  the  twisting  of  the  balustrades  of  the  gallery  rail- 
ing in  order  to  make  them  squeak.  Whittling  and  cutting 
the  woodwork  and  benches  where  they  sat  gave  opportunity 
to  put  in  time  and  also  to  try  out  their  jack-knives.  They 
passed  the  time  in  other  ways,  for  there  are  court  records 
showing  that  youths  were  taken  before  magistrates  and  fined 
for  playing  and  laughing  in  church  and  doing  things  to 
make  others  laugh  and  play. 

The  best  evidence  left  us  to  show  that  boys  kept  them- 
selves busy  in  the  meeting-houses  is  that  they  kept  other 
people  busy  attending  to  them.  There  are  plenty  of  records 
left  to  show  that  the  tithing-man  was  continually  being  or- 
dered to  look  after  the  behavior  of  the  boj^s  and  also  of  the 
appointing  of  extra  men  to  look  after  these  unruly  beings, 
in  one  church  as  many  as  six  men  had  to  be  appointed  at 
one  time  to  keep  them  in  order.  These  men  had  power  to 
inflict  punishment  on  the  boys,  and  they  did  not  hesitate 


440  The  Historical  Child 

to  rap  them  soundly  with  their  sticks  and,  too,  sometimes  a 
boy  was  taken  out  of  the  meeting-house  and  given  a  severe 
whipping.  The  tithing-man  also  used  other  means,  for  some- 
times he  took  a  boy  from  his  place  with  the  other  boys  and 
paraded  him  across  the  house  and  put  him  by  side  his 
mother  on  the  women's  side.  If  a  young  man  would  not  be- 
have himself,  sometimes  he  was  taken  away  from  his  place 
among  the  men  and  led  to  where  the  boys  sat  and  forced 
to  sit  with  them.  Even  during  the  noon  hour  the  boys  were 
watched  over.  While  in  the  noon-house  they  had  to  listen 
to  Bible  teachings  and  interpretations.  This  was  done  to 
keep  them  quiet  during  this  time  so  they  might  not  "sporte 
and  playe." 

It  is  not  wondered  at  that  under  such  training  much  early 
religion  developed.  The  Bible  was  read  through  many  times 
by  the  young  and  much  precocity  in  religious  things  was 
developed.  A  father  gives  in  his  diary  the  following  in  ref- 
erence to  a  little  girl  of  eight:  "A  little  while  after  dinner 
she  burst  out  into  an  amazing  cry,  which  caused  all  the  fam- 
ily to  cry,  too.  Her  mother  asked  the  reason ;  she  gave  none. 
At  last  said  she  was  afraid  she  would  goe  to  Hell;  her  sins 
were  not  pardoned.  She  was  first  wounded  by  my  reading 
a  sermon  of  Mr.  Norton's,  Text,  ye  shall  seek  me  and  shall 
not  find  me.  And  those  words  in  the  sermon,  ye  shall  seek 
me  and  die  in  your  sins  ran  in  her  mind  and  terrified  her 
greatly  .  .  .  told  me  she  was  afraid  she  should  go  to 
Hell,  was  like  Spira  not  elected.  "^^^ 

Another  father  makes  this  entry  in  his  diary  about  his 
four-year-old  daughter:  "I  took  my  little  daughter  Katy 
into  my  study  and  then  I  told  my  child  I  am  to  dye  shortly 
and  shee  must,  when  I  am  dead,  remember  Everything  I  now 
said  to  unto  her.  I  sett  before  her  the  sinful  Condition  of 
her  nature,  and  1  charged  her  to  pray  in  Secret  Places  every 
Day.  That  God  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  would  give  her 
a  New  Heart.  I  gave  her  to  understand  that  when  I  am 
taken  from  her  she  must  look  to  meet  with  more  humbling 
Afflictions  than  she  does  now  she  has  a  Tender  Father  to  pro- 
vide for  her."^5« 

These  two  quotations  are  from  the  diaries  of  educated  men, 
the  first  being  from  Judge  Sewall  and  the  second  from  Cot- 
ton Mather,     It  is  hard  for  us  now  to  see  any  reason  for 

'^  Fisher,  Men,  women,  and  manners  in  colonial  times,  I,  141. 
""  Earle,  Child  life  in  Colonial  days,  236. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  441 

such  a  talk  as  Cotton  Mather  gave  a  child  of  four,  especially 
as  he  lived  for  thirty  years  afterward  and  died  long  after 
this  little  girl  died. 

The  religious  books  of  Puritan  New  England  children  were 
of  a  remarkable  character.  Mrs.  Earle  gives  the  following 
in  reference  to  one  of  the  most  popular  and  widely  read 
books : 

"Young  babes  chide  their  parents  for  too  infrequent  pray- 
ing, and  have  ecstacies  of  delight  when  they  can  pray  ad 
infitum.  One  child  two  years  old  was  able  'savingly  to  un- 
derstand the  mysteries  of  Redemption';  another  of  the  same 
age  was  a  'dear  lover  of  faithful  ministers.'  Anne  Green- 
wich, who  died  when  five  years  old,  'discoursed  most  aston- 
ishingly of  great  mysteries';  Daniel  Bradley,  who  had  an 
'Impression  and  inquisitiveness  of  the  State  of  Souls  after 
Death,'  when  three  years  old;  Elizabeth  Butcher,  who, 
'when  two  and  a  half  years  old,  as  she  lay  in  the  Cradle 
would  ask  herself  the  Question  What  is  my  corrupt  Nature : 
and  would  answer  herself  It  is  empty  of  Grace,  bent  unto 
Sin,  and  only  to  Sin,  and  that  Continually,'  were  among  the 
distressing  examples. "  ^^^ 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  about 
1638  by  a  Puritan  boy  of  twelve  years  of  age  and  well  dis- 
plays the  tendency  toward  religious  fears  as  found  in  the 
young  people  of  that  period: 

"Though  I  am  thus  well  in  body  yet  I  question  whether 
my  soul  doth  prosper  as  my  body  doth,  for  I  perceive  yet  to 
this  very  day,  little  growth  in  grace;  and  this  makes  me 
question  whether  grace  be  in  my  heart  or  no.  I  feel  also 
daily  great  unwillingness  to  good  duties,  and  the  great 
ruling  of  sin  in  my  heart;  and  that  God  is  angry  with  me 
and  gives  me  no  answers  to  my  prayers;  but  many  times 
he  even  throws  them  down  as  dust  in  my  face;  and  he  does 
not  grant  my  continued  request  for  the  spiritual  blessing  of 
the  softening  of  my  hard  heart.  And  in  all  this  I  could  yet 
take  some  comfort  but  that  it  makes  me  to  wonder  what 
God 's  secret  decree  concerning  me  may  be :  for  I  doubt 
whether  even  God  is  wont  to  deny  grace  and  mercy  to  his 
chosen  (though  uncalled)  when  they  seek  unto  him  by  prayer 
for  it ;  and,  therefore,  seeing  he  doth  thus  deny  it  to  me,  I 
think  that  the  reason  of  it  is  most  like  to  be  because  I  belong 
not  unto  the  election  of  grace.    I  desire  that  you  would  let 

"'Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  times,  250. 


442  The  Historical  Child 

me  have  your  prayers  as  I  doubt  not  but  I  have  them,  and 
rest 

"Your  Son,  Samuel  Mather. "^^* 

As  was  given  under  the  discussion  of  infancy,  the  Puritan 
babe  had  to  be  taken  to  the  meeting-house  on  the  Sunday  fol- 
lowing its  birth  to  be  baptized,  even  in  the  most  bitter  weather. 
One  record  is  given  of  the  baptism  of  an  infant  but  four 
days  old  and  this  during  the  first  part  of  February.  In 
one  diary  there  is  given  about  a  day  in  January  so  bad  that 
but  few  women  could  get  out  to  meeting,  and  yet  a  babe 
was  taken  to  the  meeting-house  and  baptized.  It  must  be 
considered,  too,  that  this  occurred  in  a  building  that  never 
had  had  a  fire  in  it  nor  was  there  fire  on  that  day.  It  is 
difficult  for  us  at  this  day  to  hold  even  in  imagination  the 
carrying  of  the  young  babe  by  the  midwife  through  the 
snow  and  the  w^ind  and  the  cold  of  a  New  England  January, 
the  taking  him  to  the  altar  and  placing  him  in  the  arms  of 
his  father,  the  throwing  the  icy  cold  water  over  the  child, 
and  the  shuddering  of  the  child ;  yet  worse,  for  this  baptism 
might  have  been  an  immersion  in  the  cold  water  after  the 
ice  had  been  broken,  for  at  least  one  minister  did  practice 
infant  immersion. 

Education.  There  arose  during  colonial  times  in  the 
United  States  three  chief  systems  of  education.  These  forms 
came  about  through  the  ideas  of  the  people  settling  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country  and  through  conditions  arising 
from  industrial  occupations.  In  the  southern  colonies,  in 
particular  in  Virginia,  where  the  pursuits  that  arose  pro- 
duced plantation  life  with  houses  scattered  and  no  town  or 
village  life,  there  was  followed  the  educational  ideas  of  Eng- 
land and  education  took  upon  itself  the  form  of  higher  and 
secondary  training  for  the  ruling  classes  with  but  little  pro- 
vision for  elementar}^  education.  There  was  no  free  public 
education,  the  nearest  approach  to  a  common  elementary 
school  was  what  was  designated  the  "field  school,"  which 
was  originated  by  a  neighborhood  and  supported  by  tuition 
fees,  and  often  held  in  a  shabby  building  on  an  old  exhausted 
tobacco  field.  There  did  arise,  however,  secondary  schools 
which  were  chartered  and  endowed,  resembling  the  endowed 
Latin  schools  of  England. 

The  second  form  of  schools  was  the  parochial  organiza- 

i^Earle,  Child  Ufe  in  colonial  days,  239. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  443 

tion  of  the  middle  colonies  of  New  Netherlands  arid  Penn- 
sylvania. In  these  colonies  there  arose  a  school  in  connec- 
tion with  a  church  and,  unlike  the  education  of  the  South, 
which  was  along  secondary  training,  the  work  of  this  paro- 
chial school  was  chiefly  in  elementary  education.  In  New 
Netherlands,  as  in  Holland,  the  church  was  connected  with 
the  state  and  there  was  but  one  church,  the  Dutch  Reformed, 
and  the  civil  and  religious  authorities  jointly  controlled  and 
directed  the  education.  In  Pennsylvania,  however,  religious 
and  civil  freedom  had  been  granted  from  the  very  first  and 
there  had  come  into  the  colony  people  of  different  nationali- 
ties and  of  different  religions,  and  education  came  to  be  es- 
tablished with  the  different  religious  bodies  and  each  re- 
ligious sect  had  its  own  distinctive  parochial  school  along- 
side its  own  church.  There  also  were  some  attempts  at 
higher  and  secondary  education.  Among  the  schools  started 
was  the  Penn  Charter  School,  which  was  originally  organ- 
ized by  the  Friends  in  1689,  and  there  were  higher  schools 
of  other  denominations.  When  New  Netherlands  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  English,  there  came  about  in  New  York 
conditions  somewhat  similar  to  those  in  Virginia  and  a  num- 
ber of  secondary  schools  were  organized. 

The  third  type  of  schools  in  colonial  times  was  that  formed 
by  governmental  action  in  the  New  England  colonies  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  In  these  colonies  there  was 
no  such  class  distinctions  as  in  Virginia,  and,  unlike  Penn- 
sylvania, there  was  but  one  nationality  and  one  religion, 
and,  unlike  the  Dutch  of  New  Netherlands,  they  had  cut 
themselves  away  from  the  ruling  classes  of  their  native  land, 
and  thus  they  were  free  to  develop  along  their  own  ideas. 
Their  religious  belief  and  training  called  for  the  education 
of  each  of  the  members  of  the  colony,  as  the  Bible  was  held 
to  be  the  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  so  every 
one  should  at  least  have  enough  schooling  to  enable  him  to 
read  the  Bible  for  himself.  Hence  schools  arose  in  a  short 
time  after  settlement.  In  1644  Salem  taxed  all  who  had  chil- 
dren and  were  able  to  pay  and  procured  in  this  way  means 
for  paying  for  the  schooling  of  children  whose  parents  were 
too  poor  to  pay  for  them,  In  1647  Massachusetts  passed  a  law 
that  in  every  town  of  fifty  families  a  school  for  the  teaching 
of  reading  and  writing  should  be  provided  and  that  in  a 
town  of  one  hundred  families  a  grammar  school  should  be 
provided.     Connecticut  in  1659  provided  for  its  children  in 


444  The  Historical  Child 

the  same  way.  But  all  such  schools  were  not  free  as  we  term 
free  schools  now,  and  it  was  not  till  near  the  time  of  the 
Revolution  that  general  taxes  were  levied  for  school  purposes 
and  free  schools  were  thereby  estabHshed. 

The  early  schoolliouses  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York 
were  made  of  logs  and  the  top  covered  with  bark.  Holes 
were  cut  in  the  sides  for  windows,  which  sometimes  were 
covered  with  greased  paper  that  let  in  a  dim  light.  Some 
had  a  rough  puncheon  floor  and  others  a  dirt  floor.  A  dis- 
tance up  from  the  floor  around  the  walls  pegs  were  placed 
between  the  logs  and  boards  laid  on  them  for  desks  and  by 
them  were  boards  set  on  stakes  for  seats  for  the  older  chil- 
dren, while  the  younger  children  sat  on  blocks  or  benches 
of  logs.  At  one  end  or  in  the  middle  was  a  catted  chimney. 
At  least  some  of  the  schoolhouses  in  New  England  were  bet- 
ter furnished,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  entry  in  the  town 
records  of  Roxbury  in  1652 : 

"The  feoffes  agreed  with  Daniel  "Welde  that  he  provide 
convenient  benches  with  forms,  with  tables  for  the  scholars, 
and  a  conveniente  seate  for  the  scholmaster,  a  Deske  to  put 
the  Dictionary  on  and  shelves  to  lay  up  bookes. ' '  ^^® 

This  schoolhouse  was  not  kept  in  proper  repairs,  as  the 
teacher  in  Roxbury  in  1681  wrote : 

"Of  inconveniences  (in  the  schoolhouse)  I  shall  mention 
no  other  but  the  confused  and  shattered  and  nastie  posture 
that  it  is  in,  not  fitting  for  to  reside  in,  the  glass  broke, 
and  thereupon  very  raw  and  cold;  the  floor  very  much 
broken  and  torn  up  to  kindle  fires,  the  hearth  spoiled,  the 
seats  some  burned  and  others  out  of  kilter,  that  one  had  as 
well-nigh  as  goods  keep  school  in  a  hog  stie  as  in  it.  "^®'' 

Supplies  for  school  purposes  were  quite  scarce  in  colonial 
times.  There  were  no  blackboards  nor  maps.  Paper  was 
quite  scarce  and  very  carefully  used.  Birch  bark  was  used 
to  cipher  on.  Slates  also  were  used  and  those  of  the  earlier 
times  had  no  frames  and  had  a  hole  in  one  side  in  which  a 
string  could  be  tied  for  holding  a  pencil  or  for  hanging 
around  the  neck.  If  lead  pencils  were  used  at  all  during 
colonial  times  it  was  in  the  latest  part  of  the  period.  In- 
stead of  lead  pencils  they  used  plummets  made  of  lead 
melted  and  cast  into  wooden  molds  and  cut  into  shape  by  a 
jack-knife.     Pens  were  cut  from  goose-quills  and  it  required 

"'  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  33. 
"°Z6td.,  32. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  445 

quite  a  little  skill  to  make  good  pens  and  keep  them  in  order. 
Ink  was  made  by  dissolving  ink-powder,  each  child  fur- 
nishing his  own  ink-bottle  or  ink-horn  and  ink.  Sometimes 
the  ink  was  whoUj^  home-made :  "  In  remote  districts  of  Ver- 
mont, Maine,  and  Massachusetts,  home-made  ink,  feeble  and 
pale,  was  made  by  steeping  the  bark  of  the  swamp-maple  in 
water,  boiling  the  decoction  till  thick,  and  diluting  it  with 
copperas."  ^^^ 

There  were  not  a  great  number  or  variety  of  books  for  use 
in  these  early  schools.  The  two  most  noted  books  were  the 
Hornbook  and  the  New  England  Primer.  The  hornbook  was 
the  first  book  used  by  the  child.  This  consisted  of  a  thin 
piece  of  wood  about  five  inches  long  and  two  inches  wide.  A 
sheet  of  paper  was  placed  upon  this.  At  the  top  of  this 
paper  came  the  alphabet  in  small  letters ;  then  the  alphabet 
in  capital  letters  followed ;  then  the  vowels ;  then  sjdlables, 
as,  ab,  eb,  ib,  etc.;  next  "In  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Amen;"  and  last  came 
the  Lord's  prayer.  Over  this  paper  went  a  sheet  of  horn, 
through  which  the  printed  matter  could  be  read.  The  paper 
and  the  horn  were  fastened  to  the  wood  by  strips  of  brass 
or  other  metal,  going  around  the  sides  and  ends,  and  all  held 
fast  by  tacks  driven  through  the  metal  strips.  At  the  lower 
end  of  the  hornbook  was  usually  a  handle,  which  sometimes 
had  a  hole  through  it  for  a  string  to  carry  it  by  or  to  hang 
it  around  the  neck. 

"The  New  England  Primer  is  a  poorly  printed  little  book 
about  five  inches  long  and  three  wide,  of  about  eighty  pages. 
It  contains  the  alphabet,  and  a  short  table  of  easy  syllables, 
such  as  a-b,  ab,  e-b  eb,  and  words  up  to  those  of  six  syllables. 
This  was  called  a  syllabarium.  There  were  twelve  five- 
syllable  words;  of  these  five  were  abomination,  edification, 
humiliation,  mortification,  and  purification..  There  were  a 
morning  and  evening  prayer  for  children,  and  a  grace  to  be 
said  before  meat.  Then  followed  a  set  of  little  rhymes  which 
have  become  known  everywhere,  and  are  frequently  quoted. 
Each  letter  of  the  alphabet  is  illustrated  with  a  blurred  little 
picture.  Of  these,  two-thirds  represent  Biblical  incidents. 
They  begin : 

'In  Adam's  fall 
We  sinned  all,' 

**^Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  154. 


446  The  Historical  Child 

and  ended  with  Z: 

'Zaccheus  he 
Did  climb  a  tree 
His  Lord  to  see.' 

"In  the  early  days  of  the  Primer,  all  the  colonies  were 
true  to  the  English  king,  and  the  rhyme  for  the  letter  K 
reads : 

'King   Charles   the   Good 
No  man  of  blood.' 

"But  by  Revolutionary  years  the  verse  for  K  was  changed 
to: 

'Queens  and  Kings 
Are  Gaudy  Things.' 

"Later  verses  tell  the  praise  of  George  Washington.  Then 
comes  a  series  of  Bible  questions  and  answers;  then  an  'al- 
phabet of  lessons  for  youth, '  consisting  of  verses  of  the  Bible 
beginning  successively  with  A,  B,  C,  and  so  on.  X  was 
a  difficult  initial  letter,  and  had  to  be  contented  with  'Xhort 
one  another  daily,  etc'  After  the  Lord's  prayer  and 
Apostle's  Creed  appeared  sometimes  a  list  of  names  for  men 
and  women,  to  teach  children  to  spell  their  own  names.  The 
largest  and  most  interesting  picture  was  that  of  the  burning 
at  the  stake  of  John  Rogers;  and  after  this  a  six  page  set 
of  pious  rhymes  which  the  martyr  left  at  his  death  for  his 
family  of  small  children.  After  the  year  1750,  a  few  very 
short  stories  were  added  to  its  pages,  and  were  probably 
all  the  children's  stories  that  many  of  the  scholars  of  that 
day  ever  saw. ' '  ^^^ 

In  the  establishing  of  the  elementary  schools  in  New  Eng- 
land there  was  but  little  more  required  of  the  teacher  than 
to  instruct  the  children  in  reading  and  writing,  especially 
were  they  to  be  taught  sufficiently  that  they  could  read  the 
Bible.  Also  they  were  to  be  taught  enough  arithmetic  for 
their  every-day  needs.  This  is  well  shown  in  the  records  of 
the  town  of  Plymouth,  where  in  1671  they  had  built  a 
schoolhouse  and  employed  a  schoolmaster  "to  teach  the  chil- 
dren and  youth  to  read  the  Bible,  to  write,  and  to  cast  ac- 
counts. "^°^    In  the  secondary  schools  the  emphasis  was  laid 

»"EarIe,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  128-131. 

"^Dexter,  History  of  education  in  the  United  States,  39. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  447 

upon  Latin  and  such  other  subjects  were  taught  as  would 
fit  the  scholars  for  college.  Penmanship  was  made  a  great 
deal  of  while  orthography  was  not,  the  results  of  which 
ai'e  shown  by  the  writing  and  spelling  of  the  diaries  and 
other  writings  of  that  period  that  remain. 

The  work  of  the  district  school,  of  the  academy,  and  of 
the  college  is  well  portrayed  by  McMaster.  "The  daily 
labors  of  the  schoolmaster  who  taught  in  the  district  school- 
house  three  generations  since  were  confined  to  teaching  his 
scholars  to  read  with  a  moderate  degree  of  fluency,  to  write 
legibly,  to  spell  with  some  regard  for  the  rules  of  orthography, 
and  to  know  as  much  of  arithmetic  as  would  enable  them 
to  calculate  the  interest  on  a  debt,  to  keep  the  family  ac- 
counts, and  to  make  change  in  a  shop.  ...  To  sit  eight 
hours  a  day  on  the  hardest  of  benches  poring  over  Cheever's 
Accidence ;  to  puzzle  over  long  words  in  Dil worth's  speller ;  to 
commit  to  memory  pages  of  words  in  Webster 's  American  In- 
stitute ;  to  read  long  chapters  in  the  Bible ;  to  learn  by  heart 
Dr.  Watt 's  hymns  for  children ;  to  be  drilled  in  the  Assembly 
Catechism ;  to  go  to  bed  at  sundown,  to  get  up  at  sunrise,  and 
to  live  on  brown  bread  and  pork,  porridge  and  beans,  made  up, 
with  morning  and  evening  prayers,  the  every-day  life  of  the 
lads  at  most  of  the  academies  and  schools  of  New  England. 
.  .  .  The  four  years  of  residence  at  college  were  spent  in  the 
acquisition  of  Latin  and  Greek,  a  smattering  of  mathematics, 
enough  of  logic  to  distinguish  barbara  from  celarent,  enough 
of  rhetoric  to  know  climax  from  metonomy,  and  as  much  of 
metaphysics  as  would  enable  one  to  talk  learnedly  about  a 
subject  he  did  not  understand. "  ^^* 

The  teachers  of  the  elementary  schools  of  those  early  days, 
were  too  often  not  educated  nor  cultured  men.  These  men 
in  many  cases  were  drunken,  cruel,  ignorant,  and  lazy. 
Drunkenness  seems  to  have  been  quite  prevalent  among  the 
teachers  of  early  New  York,  and  yet  there  were  some  most 
excellent  men  among  them.  In  the  middle  and  southern 
colonies  among  the  teachers  were  redemptioners  and  exported 
criminals.  It  was  not  uncommon  on  the  arrival  of  a  ship  for 
schoolmasters  to  be  advertised  for  sale  along  with  men  of 
other  callings  and  usually  the  teachers  did  not  fetch  as  good 
prices  as  weavers,  tailors,  and  the  like.  The  teachers  in  the 
secondary  schools,  on  the  contrary,  often  were  men  of  good 
scholarship  and  of  high  standing  in  the  community,  occupy- 
^»*  McMaster,  History  of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  I,  21  et  seq. 


448  The  Historical  Child 

ing  a  place  of  honor  among  their  fellow  men.  Such  teachers 
were  Christopher  Dock  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ezekiel  Cheever 
in  New  England. 

"Among  the  New  England  teachers  there  were  men  of  both 
learning  and  ability.  Not  a  more  cultured  body  of  men  ever 
formed  a  colony  than  settled  about  Boston,  Salem,  New 
Haven,  and  Hartford.  They  coveted  the  best  advantages 
for  their  children,  frequently  making  the  best  men  their 
teachers.  It  is  on  record  that  of  the  twenty-two  masters  of 
Plymouth  from  1671  to  the  Revolution,  twenty  were  grad- 
uates of  Harvard.  The  like  was  true  of  Roxbury.  Such 
men,  next  to  the  functionaries  of  church  and  state,  com- 
manded the  highest  respect.  In  the  churches  they  had  spe- 
cial pews  provided  for  their  use  beside  those  of  magistrates 
and  the  deacon's  family.  In  every  community  was  usually 
one  who  was  the  teacher  professionally,  so  considered  as  much 
as  was  the  minister  or  physician. "  ^^^ 

There  were  women  teachers  in  the  colonial  times.  They 
taught  what  was  known  as  dame-schools,  which  were  attended 
by  small  boys  and  girls.  Women  teachers  and  dame-schools 
were  probably  confined  to  New  England  and  parts  of  New 
York  adjacent  to  New  England  and  settled  by  emigrants 
from  there.  There  grew  up  the  custom  in  some  rural  dis- 
tricts of  having  one  term  of  school  in  the  summer  for  the 
j^ounger  pupils  and  taught  by  a  woman  and  another  term 
in  the  winter  for  the  older  pupils  and  taught  by  a  man. 
This  arrangement  arose  because  it  was  difficult  for  the 
younger  children  to  attend  school  during  the  bitter  weather 
of  the  winter,  while  the  older  pupils  could  attend  well  only 
during  the  cold  time  of  the  year  when  there  was  not  much 
work  to  do  on  the  farm. 

There  is  in  existence  a  contract  between  a  Dutch  school- 
master and  the  authorities  of  Flatbush,  New  York,  of  the 
date  of  October  8,  1682.  This  is  a  full  paper  and  quite  well 
shov/s  the  duties  of  a  teacher  of  that  time  in  that  colony. 
The  school  day  was  to  be  from  eight  o'clock  to  eleven  and 
from  one  to  four.  Each  forenoon  and  afternoon  session  was 
to  open  and  close  with  prayer.  On  every  "Wednesday  and 
Saturday  the  schoolmaster  was  to  instruct  the  children  in  the 
common  prayers  and  in  the  catechism  and  to  be  present  at 
the  church  meeting  when  the  children  were  catechized  be- 
fore the  congregation.     He  was  to  keep  school  nine  months 

"'Boone,  Education  in  the  United  States,  50. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  449 

in  succession,  from  September  to  June  of  each  year.  Be- 
side his  school  duties  he  had  church  duties.  He  was  to  keep 
the  church  clean,  ring  the  bell,  lead  in  the  singing,  and 
sometimes  he  was  to  read  the  sermon.  He  was  to  provide 
water  for  baptism  and  to  furnish  the  minister  with  the  name 
of  the  child  to  be  baptized  and  also  the  names  of  the  parents 
or  witnesses.  He  was  to  provide  bread  and  wine  for  the  com- 
munion. He  was  to  serve  as  messenger  for  the  consistory. 
He  was  to  give  out  the  funeral  invitations,  dig  the  grave, 
and  toll  the  bell."*^ 

It  can  scarcely  be  believed  that  the  schoolmasters  of  the 
early  period  of  our  country  could  have  been  so  cruel  as  is 
told  of  them.  It  would  appear  as  if  a  great  deal  more  time 
was  put  upon  devising  means  of  punishment  that  upon  learn- 
ing ways  of  instruction.  It  was  a  time  of  cruelty  and  of 
belief  in  the  general  depravity  of  humanity.  It  was  deemed 
that  there  was  a  natural  wilfulness  in  children  that  needed 
stern  repression  and  harsh  correction.  The  parents  and 
teachers  in  New  England  were  especially  repressive  of  child 
nature  and  their  guide  and  rule  of  action,  the  Bible,  gave 
them  constant  proof  of  the  need  of  corrective  punishment 
for  children.  "John  Robinson,  the  Pilgrim  preacher,  said 
in  his  essay  on  Children  and  Their  Education :  '  Surely  there 
is  in  all  children  (though  not  alike)  a  stubbornes  and  stout- 
nes  of  rainde  arising  from  naturall  pride  which  must  in  the 
first  place  be  broken  and  beaten  down  that  so  the  foundation 
of  their  education  being  layd  in  humilitie  and  traetablenes 
other  virtues  may  in  their  time  be  built  thereon. '  "  ^^^ 

The  rod  was  very  greatly  in  use  by  the  schoolmasters  of 
colonial  times  and  too  often  the  rod  became  the  cudgel. 
Some  teachers  had  the  boy  mount  the  back  of  another  boy 
and  with  arms  and  legs  held  tight  he  was  given  a  beating. 
The  ferule  was  applied  to  the  hands,  the  face,  and  the  feet, 
and  sometimes  this  ferule  was  a  heavy  oaken  ruler.  One 
instrument  used  was  a  hickory  club  with  leather  thongs  at- 
tached at  one  end  and  similar  to  it  was  the  tattling  stick,  a 
cat-o '-nine-tails  with  heavy  leather  straps.  Another  instru- 
ment used  was  termed  a  flapper,  which  was  a  piece  of  leather 
about  six  inches  wide  with  a  hole  in  the  middle  and  fastened 
to  a  handle.    Every  stroke  with  this  flapper  on  a  boy's  bared 

"^Dexter,  History  of  education  in  the  United  States,  Appendix  A, 
581-583. 
"^  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  191. 


450  The  Historical  Child 

back  would  raise  a  blister  the  size  of  the  hole  in  the  leather. 
A  branch  of  a  tree  was  split  and  placed  over  a  child's  nose 
and  he  had  to  then  stand  before  the  school.  For  whispering 
a  whispering-vStick  was  used,  which  was  a  kind  of  wooden 
gag  tied  in  the  mouth  with  strings,  somewhat  as  a  horse's 
bit.  Another  punishment  was  to  put  two  boys  together  in  a 
yoke  devised  for  that  purpose,  similar  to  an  ox-yoke,  and  to 
make  the  punishment  all  the  more  disgraceful  would  be  to 
yoke  a  boy  and  girl  together.  A  unipod,  a  one-legged  stool, 
was  used,  and  the  child  occupying  it  found  it  very  hard  and 
tiresome  to  balance  himself  on  it.  The  dames  in  their  schools 
used  quite  freely  a  heavy  iron  thimble,  which  by  being 
snapped  quite  vigorously  against  a  boy's  head  would  make 
for  him  "thimell-pie. "  The  dunce-block  was  freely  used  and 
the  culprit  appropriately  labelled,  as,  "Tell-Tale,"  "Bite- 
Finger-Baby,"  "Lying  Ananias,"  "Idle-Boy,"  and  "Pert- 
Miss-Prat-a-Pace."  There  were  some  teachers  who  did  not 
use  such  cruel  punishments,  although  they  must  have  been 
very  few  in  number,  one  being  Samuel  Dock,  a  German 
schoolmaster  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was  intelligent  enough  to 
be  kind  to  his  children,  but  there  were  plenty  of  the  drunken, 
dirty,  careless,  aind  cruel  teachers  in  that  colony.  Mrs. 
Earle  states:  "I  may  say  here  that  I  have  not  found  that 
New  York  schoolmasters  were  ever  as  cruel  as  were  those  of 
New  England.  "^«« 

"I  often  fancy  that  I  should  have  enjoyed  living  in  the 
good  old  times,  but  I  am  glad  I  never  was  a  child  in  colonial 
New  England — to  have  been  baptized  in  ice  water,  fed  on 
brown  bread  and  warm  beer,  to  have  had  to  learn  the  Assem- 
bly's  Catechism  and  'explain  all  the  Quaestions  with  con- 
ferring Texts,'  to  have  been  constantly  threatened  with  fear 
of  death  and  terror  of  God,  to  have  been  forced  to  commit 
Wigglesworth 's  'Da^"  of  Doom'  to  memory,  and,  after  all,  to 
have  been  whipped  with  a  tattling-stick. "  ^*^^ 

The  colonial  period  was  an  age  of  child  precocity.  In  that 
time  overzealous  parents  pushed  children  forward  till  they 
displayed  a  remarkable  precocious  learning,  to  end,  in  most 
cases,  in  an  early  death  either  physically  or  mentally,  and 
yet  some  of  these  children  did  survive  the  process  to  become 
noted  and  honored  men.  One  such  parent  wrote  to  her  sister 
asking  to  have  sent  to  her  a  set  of  toys  now  known  as  alpha- 

"' Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  29. 

^•*  Earle,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New  England,  35. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  451 

bet  blocks  and  stating  that  the  child's  father  was  contriving 
a  set  of  toys  to  teach  the  child  his  letters  by  the  time  he 
could  speak,  he  being  not  yet  four  mouths  old  at  the  time 
of  the  letter.  In  a  later  letter  the  mother  wrote  to  the  child's 
aunt  that  at  twenty-two  months  of  age  he  could  tell  his  let- 
ters in  any  book  and  he  was  beginning  to  spell.  This  boy 
grew  up  to  be  the  Revolutionary  General  Charles  Cotes- 
worth  Pinckney.  One  boy  born  in  1752  learned  his  alphabet 
in  a  single  lesson  and  he  could  read  the  Bible  before  he  was 
four  years  old.  At  the  age  of  six  he  was  sent  to  a  grammar 
school,  and,  as  his  father  would  not  let  him  study  Latin,  he 
borrowed  a  Latin  grammar  and  studied  through  it  twice 
without  a  teacher.  This  boy  afterward  was  known  as  Presi- 
dent Timothy  Dwight  of  Yale  College. 

This  precociousness  was  not  confined  to  boys,  for  one  lit- 
tle girl,  born  in  Boston  in  1708,  daughter  of  the  President 
of  Harvard  College,  before  her  second  year  was  finished 
could  speak  distinctly,  knew  her  letters,  could  relate  many 
stories  out  of  the  Scriptures,  and  when  three  years  old  she 
could  recite  the  gi-eater  part  of  the  Assembly's  Cathechism 
and  also  she  could  recite  many  of  the  psalms  and  many  lines 
of  poetry  and  read  distinctly.  The  Governor  of  the  colony 
and  other  distinguished  guests  at  her  home  sometimes  would 
place  this  little  girl  on  a  table  to  show  off  her  acquirements. 
Another  little  girl,  born  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in 
1759,  in  her  third  year  could  "read  any  book,"  so  the  story 
ran,  and,  too,  this  she  could  do  holding  the  book  upside 
down. 

Boj^s  entered  the  Boston  Latin  School  as  young  as  six  and 
a  half  years  of  age  and  often  parents  had  them  begin  Latin 
at  an  earlier  age,  some  parents  teaching  their  little  ones  to 
read  Latin  words  when  but  three  yeai*s  old  along  with  the 
English.  Young  Timothy  Dwight  would  have  been  prepared 
to  enter  college  at  eight  years  of  age  had  not  his  grammar 
school  been  discontinued  because  of  having  no  teacher.  A 
boy  in  1686  entered  Harvard  College  at  eleven  years  of  age 
and  another  boy  in  1799  graduated  from  Rhode  Island  Col- 
lege   (now  Brown  University)    at  barely  fourteen  years  of 

age. 

The  most  remarkable  ease  of  childish  precocity  given  by 
Mrs.  Earle  was  that  of  Richard  Evelyn,  who  died  in  1658 
at  the  early  age  of  five  years  and  three  days.  The  father  in 
his   diary   recounted   in  the   following   quoted   passage  the 


452  The  Historical  Child 

wonderful  acquirements  of  the  little  boy  before  his  death: 

"He  had  learned  all  his  catechism  at  two  years  and  a  half 
old;  he  could  perfectly  read  any  of  the  English,  Latin, 
French,  or  Gothic  letters,  pronouncing  the  first  three  lan- 
guages exactly.  He  had,  before  the  fifth  year,  or  in  that 
year,  not  only  skill  to  read  most  written  hands,  but  to  de- 
cline all  the  nouns,  conjugate  the  verbs  regular,  and  most 
of  the  irregular ;  learned  out  of  Puerelis,  got  by  heart  almost 
the  entire  vocabulary  of  Latin  and  French  primitives  and 
words,  could  make  congruous  syntax,  turn  English  into 
Latin,  and  vice  versa,  construe  and  prove  what  he  read,  and 
did  the  government  and  use  of  relatives,  verbs,  substances, 
ellipses  and  many  figures  and  tropes,  and  made  a  consider- 
able progress  in  Comenius'  Janua ;  begun  himself  to  write 
legibly  and  had  a  strong  passion  for  Greek.  The  number 
of  verses  he  could  recite  was  prodigious,  and  what  he  re- 
membered of  the  parts  of  plays  which  he  would  also  act; 
and,  when  seeing  a  Plautus  in  one's  hand,  he  asked  what 
book  it  was,  and  being  told  it  was  comedy  and  too  difficult 
for  him,  he  wept  for  sorrow.  Strange  was  his  apt  and  in- 
genious application  of  fables  and  morals,  for  he  had  read 
-^sop ;  he  had  a  wonderful  disposition  to  mathematics,  hav- 
ing by  heart  divers  propositions  of  Euclid  that  were  read  to 
him  in  play,  and  he  would  make  lines  and  demonstrate  them. 
He  had  learned  by  heart  divers  sentences  in  Latin  and  Greek 
which  on  occasion  he  would  produce  even  to  wonder.  He 
was  all  life,  all  prettiness,  far  from  morose,  sullen,  or  child- 
ish in  anything  he  said  or  did."  ^'^^ 

The  girls  of  colonial  times  did  not  receive  much  education, 
as  it  was  not  considered  necessary  for  women  to  have  learn- 
ing beyond  that  necessary  for  household  duties.  All  that  was 
considered  really  needed  by  a  girl  in  the  way  of  book  learn- 
ing was  to  know  how  to  read  and  write  and  cipher  a  little. 
Most  of  the  girls  received  nothing  further  than  elementary 
training  in  reading  and  writing  and  many  of  them  did  not 
even  have  that  much  of  education.  This  was  true  in  all  the 
colonies,  New  England,  New  York,  and  the  others. 

A  lady  writing  of  the  education  of  girls  of  her  time  in 
New  York,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century 
stated : 

' '  It  was  at  that  time  very  difficult  to  procure  the  means  of 

""  Earle,  Child  life  in  colonial  days,  177. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  453 

instruction  in  those  island  districts;  female  education  was, 
of  consequence,  conducted  on  a  very  limited  scale;  girls 
learned  needlework  (in  which  they  were  indeed  both  skilful 
and  ingenious)  from  their  mothers  and  aunts;  they  were 
taught,  too,  at  that  period  to  read,  in  Dutch,  the  Bible,  and 
a  few  Calvinistic  tracts  of  the  devotional  kind.  But  in  the 
infancy  of  the  settlement  few  girls  read  English;  when  they 
did,  they  were  thought  accomplished;  they  generally  spoke 
it,  however  imperfectly,  and  few  were  taught  writing. ' '  ^'^^ 

A  historian  of  New  York,  writing  of  his  fellow  towns- 
women  during  the  year  1756,  said  that  "there  is  nothing 
they  (New  York  women)  so  generally  neglect  as  Reading, 
and  indeed  all  the  Arts  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mind, 
in  which  I  confess  we  have  set  them  the  Example."^" 

The  attitude  of  the  people  of  the  period  toward  the  ad- 
mission of  girls  into  boys'  grammar  schools  is  shown  by  the 
following  extract  from  the  rules  for  governing  such  a  school 
in  New  Haven  in  1684: 

"...  and  all  girls  be  excluded  as  improper  and  incon- 
sistent with  such  a  grammar  school  as  ye  law  injoines  and  as 
is  the  Designe  of  this  settlement. "  ^^^ 

But  it  must  not  be  considered  that  the  education  of  the 
girls  was  wholly  neglected  among  the  colonists,  for,  though 
they  were  scarcely  ever  admitted  to  boys'  schools,  yet  they 
did  go  to  the  dame-schools  and  also  they  received  training 
at  home.  The  girls  were  all  taught  household  duties  and 
the  fancy  needlework  that  went  with  it.  Reading,  writing,  a 
little  arithmetic,  dancing,  needlework,  music,  deportment, 
and  elegance  of  carriage  composed  the  curriculum  for  girls. 
Sometimes  a  girl  would  get  some  help  from  a  brother  and 
thus  gain  an  education  beyond  that  ordinarily  obtained  by 
girls.  Occasionally  an  educated  father  would  teach  his 
daughter,  one  such  case  being  that  of  President  Colraan  of 
Harvard  College,  who  gave  what  was  called  a  profound  edu- 
cation to  his  daughter  Jane.  Withal  this  meager  education, 
nevertheless  we  are  not  at  all  ashamed  of  the  bearing  of  our 
foremothers  of  the  colonial  and  Revolutionary  times. 

As  academies  grew  up  during  the  latter  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  most  of  which  were  for  boys,  a  few  were  made 

"*  Earle,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York,  39. 

^"^Ibid.,  40. 

"'Dexter,  History  of  education  in  the  United  States,  426. 


454  The  Historical  Child 

co-educational    and    a    few    others    were    established    for 
girls : 

"For  a  hundred  years  the  Penn  Charter  School,  Philadel- 
phia, had  admitted  both  sexes  on  equal  terms.  The  Moravians 
had  established  a  school  for  girls  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  as 
early  as  1745,  while  the  Philadelphia  Female  Academy  dates 
from  the  Revolution.  Among  the  earliest  in  New  England 
were  Dr.  D wight's  Young  Ladies'  Academy,  at  Greenfield, 
Conn.  (1785),  and  the  Medford  School,  near  Boston 
(1789)."^^* 

Of  the  colleges  in  the  United  States  today,  two  of  them 
were  founded  during  the  first  century  of  the  colonial  period, 
the  seventeenth  century,  ten  others  in  the  next  century  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  and  by  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury the  list  had  increased  to  twenty -six,  eleven  of  the  original 
colonies  being  represented  in  the  list  and  also  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  Arranging  the  twelve  colleges  of  the  colonial 
period  in  the  order  of  the  year  of  first  opening  and  with  the 
names  and  locations  as  now,  they  run  as  follows :  ^^^ 

Harvard     Universitj^     Cambridge,     Massachusetts,     1636 ; 
College  of  William  and  IMary,  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  1693 ; 
Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  1701 ;  Washing- 
ton   College,    Chestertown,    Maryland,    1723;    University   of 
Pennsylvania,   Philadelphia,   Pennsylvania,   1740;   Moravian 
Seminary  and  College  for  Women,  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania, 
1742 ;  Princeton  University,  Princetown,  New  Jersey,  1746 
Washington  and  Lee  University,  Lexington,  Virginia,  1749 
Columbia    University,    New   York    City,    New    York,    1754 
Brown  University,  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  1765 ;  Rutgers 
College,  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  1766;  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  1769. 

With  dame-schools  for  the  younger  children,  district 
schools  for  the  older  ones,  academies  for  the  yet  more  ad- 
vanced, and  colleges  for  completing  the  education,  the  early 
period  of  the  United  States  gave  such  an  education  to  its 
young  people  as  well  to  prepare  them  to  become  the  noble 
men  and  women,  who,  by  books,  papers,  addresses,  and  gen- 
eral bearing,  were  able  to  stand  alongside  the  people  of  the 
world  in  the  great  period  of  the  American  Revolution,  and 
furnished  thinkers  and  doers  such  as  have  not  been  sur- 
passed by  our  own  time. 

"*  Boone,  Education  in  the  United  States,  69. 

"'^Report  U,  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  1914,  II,  224-246. 


The  Child  in  Earlier  United  States  455 

LITERATURE 

1.  Boone,  Richard  G.,  Education  in  the  United  States. 

2.  Calhoun,  Arthur  W.,  A  social  history  of  the  Amer- 
ican family. 

3.  Claxton,  Philander  Priestley,  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  of  the  United  States,  1914. 

4.  Dexter,    Edwin   Grant,    History   of   education   in   the 
United  States. 

5.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Child  life  in  Colonial  days. 

6.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Colonial  days  in  old  New  York. 

7.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Costume  of  colonial  times. 

8.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Curious    punishments    of    bygone 
days. 

9.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Customs  and  fashions  in  old  New 
England. 

10.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Diary   of   Anna   Green   Winslow, 
a  Boston  school-girl  of  1771. 

11.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  Home  life  in  colonial  days. 

12.  Earle,  Alice  Morse,  The     Sabbath     in    Puritan    New 
England. 

13.  Eggleston,  Edward,  Social  conditions  in  the  colonies, 
The  Century  Magazine,  VI.,  853. 

14.  Eggleston,  Edward,  The  colonists  at  home,  The  Cen- 
tury Magazine,  VII.,  873. 

15.  Eggleston,   Edward,   Social  life   in  the   colonies,    The 
Century  Magazine,  VIII.,  387. 

16.  Fisher,  Sydney  George,  Men,  women  and  manners  in 
colonial  times. 

17.  Haddon,  Kathleen,  Cat's  cradles  from  many  lands. 

18.  Howard,  George  Elliott,  A  history  of  matrimonial  in- 
stitutions. 

19.  Low,  A.  Maurice,  The  American  people. 

20.  Mather,  Frederic  G.,  Early  New  England  choirs  and 
singing-schools,  The  American  Magazine,  VIII. ,  310. 

21.  McMaster,  John  Bach,  A  history  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States. 

22.  Salmon,  Lucy  Maynard,  Domestic  service. 

23.  Stiles,  Henry  Reed,  Bundling:  Its  origin,  progress  and 
decline  in  the  United  States. 

24.  Welsh,  Charles,  The  early  history  of  children's  books 
in  New  England,  New  England  Magazine,  XX.,  147, 


INDEX 


"Above    the    salt,"    seating    of 

guests,  in  United  States,  328. 
Acrobatic     feats    in     China,     120; 

Egypt,  79;  Europe,  294;  Greece, 

200;     India,    98;     Japan,     147; 

Mexico,  34;   Eome,  253;   United 

States,  403. 
Admonitions  of  father  to  a  son,  in 

Mexico,   20;    of   a  mother  to   a 

daughter,  in  Mexico,  21. 
Adoption,    in   Greece,    194;    India, 

99;  Japan,  145;  Rome,  242. 
Adrogation  at  Eome,  242. 
Adultery,    in    China,    104;    Egypt, 

58;   India,  92. 
African     slave    trade    in    United 

States,  317. 
Agriculture,  in  Egypt,  65;  Mexico, 

30;  Peru,  45;  Rome,  246. 
Amphitheater,      the,      at      Rome, 

250. 
Amusements,  in  China,  118;  Egypt, 

76;     Europe,    292;     India,    98; 

Japan,  146;  Judea,  173;  Mexico, 

33;     Persia,     164;     Rome,   249; 

United  States,  398. 
Animal  exhibits  in  United  States, 

404. 
Animals,  domestic,  of  Egypt,  66. 
Animals,  trained,  in  Europe,  294; 

Japan,   147. 
Animals  used  for  food,  in  Egypt, 

61;    Europe,    428;    Rome,    238; 

United  States,  369. 
Anklets  worn  in  Egypt,  61;  Judea, 

172. 
Apprenticeship    in    Europe,    290; 

Japan,  156. 
Aqueducts  of  Peru,  46. 
Architecture  in  Egypt,  72. 
Aristocracy  of  Europe,  275. 
Armed  men  at  church  in  New  Eng- 
land, 437. 
Artificial  teeth  at  Rome,  237. 

457 


Artisans  of  Europe,  273. 

"  Assemblies"   in   United  States, 

399. 
Athletic  contests  at  Rome,  252. 
Atrium  of  a  Roman  house,  216. 
Auguries    of    marriages   in    India, 

90;  Mexico,  17. 
Ax,  the,  among  the  early  colonists 

of  United  States,  322. 

Baby  boys  welcomed,  baby  girls  not 

wanted,  in  China,  116. 
Bachelors  in  Greece,   185;    United 

States,  348. 
Backgammon  in  Europe,  295. 
Balls   and   ball-playing   in    Egypt, 

81;    Europe,   296;    Greece,    196; 

Mexico,  35;  Rome,  255;   United 

States,  413. 
Bangles  worn  in  China,  122. 
Banquets    in    Mexico,    33;    Rome. 

224. 
Baptism  of  infant  in  Mexico,  19; 

United  States,  376. 
Bathing  new-born   child   in  China, 

113;  Sparta,  191. 
Baths  and  bathing  in  Egypt,  62; 

Rome,  254;   United  States,  358. 
Battledore  and   shuttlecock  in  Ja- 
pan, 151. 
Beards  in  Egypt,  61 ;  Europe,  284 ; 

Greece,  187. 
Beautifying  the  person  by  Roman 

women,  236. 
Beds  in  Rome,  217;  United  States, 

327. 
Beer  in  United  States,  371. 
Beetles,  children   playing  with,  in 

Greece,  196. 
Betrothal   in    China,    108;    Greece, 

182;     India,    90;     Japan,     134; 

Judea,  169;   Persia,  161;  Rome, 

226;  United  States,  339. 
"Beverige,"  in  United  States,  372. 


458 


Index 


Bilboes     used     for     offenders     in 

United  States,  417. 
Birth  in  China,  112;  Greece,  191; 

Japan,  143;  Judea,  170;  Mexico, 

18;   Rome,  239. 
Birthday  at  Rome,  240. 
Blind  man's  buff  in  Europe,  296; 

Greece,  196;  Japan,  151. 
Bond-servants    in    United    States, 

321. 
Books     for     children     in     United 

States,  413. 
Books  for  young  women  in  Japan, 

158. 
Books     on     etiquette     in     United 

States,    382. 
Bottles  of  Egypt,  67. 
Bowling     and     bowling-greens     in 

England,  296. 
Boys    and    girls    in    China,    115; 

India,  96. 
Boys'  behavior  in  United  States, 

383. 
Boys'  games  in  China,  121. 
Boys'   work   and   manufactures  in 

United  States,  422. 
Bracelets     worn    in     China,     122; 

Egypt,    61;    India,    91;    Judea, 

172;  Rome,  236;  United  States, 

354. 
Branding     offenders     in     United 

States,  419. 
Breach     of     promise     in     United 

States,  342. 
Bread  and  bread-making  in  Egypt, 

63;  Europe,  286;  Greece,  190. 
Brides,  treatment  of,  on  wedding- 
day  in  China,  112. 
Buckles  worn  at  knees  and  ankles 

by  men  in  United  States,  354. 
Buffoonery  in  Egypt,  79. 
Buildings  in  Peru,  41. 
Bulla  worn  by  child  at  Rome,  240. 
Bull-baiting  in  United  States,  403. 
Bull-fights  in   Egypt,   80. 
Bundling  in  United  States,  337. 
Burial  in  Egypt,  75;  Greece,  201; 

Rome,   244;    United  States,  393. 
Burial-places  in  United  States,  396. 

Cage   to   hold   baby   at  church   in 

United  States,  379. 
Calling  to  people  to  church  in  New 

England,  433. 


Cards  in  Europe,  295. 

Care  and  treatment  of  children  in 

Europe,  290;  Greece,  191;  India, 

97;     Japan,    143;     Judea,    170; 

Mexico,    19;     Peru,    44;    Rome, 

239;   United  States,  384. 
Carrying  children  in  Japan,  145. 
Caste  in  India,  85. 
Casting  the  nativity  of  the  infant 

in  Mexico,  19. 
Cat,  the,  used  in  hunting  in  Egypt, 

80. 
Catechetical     schools     in     Europe, 

296. 
Catching  butterflies  and  beetles  by 

children     at    play     in     Europe, 

296. 
Cat's  cradle,  game  of,  in  United 

States,  408. 
Celibacy  at  Rome,  224. 
Cellars   of    Dutch   houses   in   New 

York,  324. 
Ceremony    of    binding    wrists    of 

baby  in  China,  113. 
Ceremony  of   initiation   on   child's 

first  entering  school  in  India,  99. 
Ceremony  of  purification  of  child 

in  Greece,  191;  Rome,  239. 
Chairs  in  Egypt,  57;   Rome,  217 

United  States,  326. 
Characteristics     of     Persia,     161 

Rome,  212. 
Chess  in  Europe,  295;   India,  99 

Rome,  253. 
Chests  in  United  States,  326. 
Chewing-gum  in  Mexico,  26. 
Child   and   parent   in   China,    116; 

Egypt,  58 ;  Europe,  289 ;  Greece, 

191;     India,    97;     Japan,     146; 

Judea,  171;  Mexico,  19;  Persia, 

163;  Rome,  238. 
Child  and  religion  in  China,   122; 

Egypt,  76;   Greece,  202;   Rome, 

255;   United  States,  439. 
Child   in   China,    104;    Egypt,   52; 

Europe,  264;  Greece,  177;  India, 

85;     Japan,    130;     Judea,    167; 

Mexico,   15;    Persia,   161;    Peru, 

39;    Rome,   212;    United   States, 

313. 
Childish    (Mother   Goose)    Rhymes 

in  China,  113. 
Child-marriage    in    Europe,    281; 

India,  92. 


Index 


459 


Child-murder,  punishment  for,    in 

Egypt,  58. 
Child-pilgrimages  of  Europe,  310. 
Children   all   legitimate   in    Egypt, 

58. 
Children    among    the    early    Chris- 
tians in  Europe,  289. 
Children  at  meals  in  United  States, 

381. 
Children,  companies  of,  at  Albany, 

New  York,  408. 
Children    desired    in    Greece,    191; 

Judea,  169. 
Children    from     almshouses   bound 

out  to  service  in  United  States, 

320. 
Children    of    the    ancient    Britons, 

287. 
Children's  carts  at  Rome,  254. 
Children's  Crusade  in  Europe,  302; 

France,   302;    Germany,   305. 
Children's  toys  and  story  books  in 

United   States,   412. 
Cliild  's  first  day  at  school  in  China, 

124. 
Child    welfare   in    United    States, 

380. 
Chimneys     of     houses    in    United 

States,  330. 
Chinese  baby,  a,  112. 
Chiton,  worn  in  Greece,  187. 
Chivalry  in   Europe,   268. 
Christening    blanket    of    baby    in 

United  States,  379. 
Christmas  sports   and  pastimes  in 

Europe,     293;     United     States, 

414. 
Church-ales  in  Europe,  293. 
Church  buildings  in  United  States, 

428. 
Church   services  in  New  England, 

437. 
Cider  in  United  States,  372. 
Circumcision  in  Judea,  171. 
Circus  Maximus  at  Eome,  250. 
Citizenship  at  Eome,  240. 
Classes   of    people    in    Egypt,    53; 

Greece,  177;   Mexico,  15;   Rome, 

213. 
Classical  learning  saved  to  Europe 

by  the  Christian  Church,   299. 
Cleanliness  of  Egyptians,  62. 
Cloth   manufacture   in   Egypt,   67; 

Mexico,   37;    Peru,   48. 


Coasting  at  Albany,  New  York,  411. 

Cock-fighting  in  United  States,  403. 

Coeducational  academies  in  United 
States,  454. 

Coffee-drinking  in  United  States, 
374. 

Colleges  in  United  States,  454. 

Combs  in  Egypt,  62;  Judea,  172. 

'  *  Coming  Out ' '  of  bride  and 
groom  in  United  States,  342. 

Commerce  in  Egypt,  71;  Europe, 
273;   Mexico,  32;   Rome,  249. 

Competitive  literary  examinations 
for  public  positions  in  China, 
127. 

Concubinage  in  China,  105;  Egypt, 
58;  Japan,  185;  Mexico,  18; 
Rome,  238. 

Conjuring  in  Europe,  294. 

Contests  by  boys  in  physical  exer- 
cises in  Greece,  199. 

Contract  between  a  Dutch  school- 
master and  the  authorities  of 
Flatbush,  New  York,  448. 

Conventus  matronarum  at  Rome, 
220. 

Cooking  and  cooking  utensils  in 
United  States,  328. 

Corn  huskings  in  United  States, 
365. 

Corsets  worn  by  children  in  United 
States,  363. 

Cosmetics  used  in  China,  122; 
Egypt,  61;  Greece,  189;  Judea, 
172;  Mexico,  24;  Rome,  237; 
United  States,  358. 

Couches  at  Rome,  217. 

Country  of  Egypt,  52. 

Couriers  in  Mexico,  33. 

Course  of  study  in  schools  of  China, 
125;  Egypt,  83;  Europe,  297. 

Courses  of  study  in  the  Universi- 
ties of  Europe,  300. 

Court  fools  in  Europe,  294;  Mex- 
ico, 33. 

Courtesans  in  India,  87;  Japan, 
133. 

Courting-sticks  in  United  States, 
337. 

Courtship  in  China,  108;  Greece, 
183;  Japan,  134;  United  States, 
336. 

Cradles  of  Greece,  192;  United 
States,  378. 


460 


Index 


Cremation  at  Kome,  245. 
Cricket-fighting  in  China,    121. 
Criminals   sent    from    England   to 

America,   318. 
Cruelty     of     teachers     in     United 

States,   449. 
Cupboards    in    houses    of    United 

States,  326. 
Curling-irons  for  the  hair  in  Greece, 

188. 
Customs   relating   to   the  land    in 

United  States,  313. 

Dame-schools  in  New  England,  448. 
Dancing    in    Egypt,    77;     Europe, 

294;    Greece,     200;     India,     98; 

Japan,  147;  Judea,  173;  Mexico, 

34;    Eome,   254;    United  States, 

399. 
Daughter  desired  after  several  sons 

were  born  to  family  in  India,  97. 
Daughter-in-law      and      mother-in- 
law,  relation  of,  in  China,  104. 
Day  and  night,  game  of,  in  Greece, 

196. 
Death   in  Egypt,  74;   Kome,  243; 

United  States,  393. 
Death  of   son  laid  upon  daughter 

in  Egypt,  96. 
Deductio  of  bride  at  Rome,  229. 
Deformation  of  feet  in  China,  117. 
Diary  of  a  Boston  school  girl  of 

1771,  384. 
Dice  in   Egypt,   80;    Europe,  295; 

Greece,  200;  Mexico,  34;  Persia, 

164;  Eome,  254, 
Dining-tables     in    United    States, 

328. 
Discipline  in  schools  of  China,  126; 

Egypt,   83;    Greece,   209;   India, 

102;    Judea,    175;    Mexico,    36; 

Eome,   261;   United   States,  449. 
Discomfort  of  houses  in  winter  in 

United  States,  331. 
Diseases  in  United  States,  389. 
Diseases    of     infancy    in     United 

States,  377. 
Disposition  of  Chinese  baby,  113. 
Divination  by  children  in  Egypt,  76. 
Divorce    in    China,    105 ;     Europe, 

281;    Greece,    185;    Japan,    137; 

Judea,  170;  Mexico,  18;  Persia, 

163;  Eome,  230;  United  States, 

342. 


Dolls  in  Egypt,  81;    Greece,  195; 

Japan,  149 ;   Kome,  254 ;   United 

States,  413. 
Doors    in    Dutch    houses    in    New 

York,  323;  Egyptian  houses,  56; 

Eoman  houses,  217. 
Dowry  in  Greece,   183;   India,  98; 

Judea,  169;   Eome,  226. 
Draughts,  game  of,  in  Egypt,  79; 

Europe,  295. 
Dress  a   distinguishing  mark   dur- 
ing the  middle  ages  of  Europe, 

283. 
Dress   in   China,   121;    Egypt,  59; 

Europe,  282;  Greece,  186;  India, 

98;     Japan,    140;    Judea,     171; 

Mexico,   24;   Persia,   163;   Peru, 

41;    Eome,   231;    United  States, 

348. 
Dress,  laws  against  luxury  in,  in 

New  England,  350. 
Dress,  material  of,  in  China,  121; 

Egypt,   60;    Greece,   187;    Rome, 

233;   United  States,  354. 
Dress  of   Anglo-Saxons,   282. 
Dress     of    bovs    in    Greece,    186; 

Persia,  163;'  United  States,  360. 
Dress   of   children   in   China,   122; 

Egypt,    64;    Europe,   284. 
Dress  of  Dutch  children  in  United 

States,  363. 
Dress  of  early  Britons.  282. 
Dress   of   girls  in   United   States, 

361. 
Dress  of  frontiersmen  and  hunters 

in  United  States,  351. 
Dress    of    infant    in    China,    122; 

Greece,  191;  Japan,  144:  United 

States,  359. 
Dress  of  men  and  women  embroid- 
ered and  decorated  in  medieval 

Europe,  284. 
Dress  of  men  and  women  of  work- 
ing classes  in  Europe,  284. 
Dress     of     men     in     Egypt,     59; 

Europe,  283;  Mexico,  24;  Persia, 

163;   United  States,  351. 
Dress  of  Normans,   283. 
Dress    of    school    girls    in    United 

States,  362. 
Dress  of    servants    and    slaves  in 

Egypt,  60. 
Dress    of    women    in    China,    122; 

Egypt,  59;  Europe,  284;  Greece, 


Index 


461 


187;    Mexico,    24;    Persia,    163; 

Rome,  232 ;  United  States,  352. 
Dress,    Restrictions    on    in    early 

United  States,   350. 
Drink  in  Egypt,   64;   Greece,  190; 

Mexico,     26;    Peru,    43;     Rome, 

238;   United  States,  369. 
Drink  of  children  in  United  States, 

375. 
Driving    vehicles    for    pleasure    at 

Rome,    253. 
Ducking-stool     in    United    States, 

418. 
Dutch  houses  in  New  York,  323. 
Duties  of  children  in  Greece,  194; 

Judea,  171. 
Dwarfs  and   deformed   persons  in 

Egypt,  79. 

Earrings  in  China,  122 ;  Egypt,  61 ; 
Judea,  172;  Rome,  236. 

Education  among  the  early  Chris- 
tians, 296. 

Education  in  China,  123;  Egypt, 
82;  Europe,  296;  Greece,  203; 
India,  100;  Japan,  157;  Judea, 
173;  Mexico,  36;  Persia,  164; 
Peru,  50;  Rome,  257;  United 
States,  442. 

Education  in  Parishads  in  India, 
101. 

Education  in  post-exilic  period  in 
Judea,  174;  pre-exilic  period, 
174. 

Education  of  boys  in  Athens,  207; 
India,  101;  Mexico,  37;  Persia, 
164;  Sparta,  204. 

Education  of  Brahman  in  India, 
101. 

Education  of  common  people  in 
Mexico,  37;   Peru,  51. 

Education  of  higher  classes  in  Mex- 
ico, 37;   Peru,  51. 

Education  of  samurai  in  Japan, 
158. 

Education  of  women  in  Athens, 
209;  China,  127;  Egypt,  83;  Eu- 
rope, 301;  India,  102;  Japan, 
158;  Judea,  175;  Mexico,  37; 
Persia,  169;  Rome,  262;  Sparta, 
209;    United  States,  452. 

Education  of  youth  at  Athens,  208 ; 
Persia,  165;  Peru,  51;  Sparta, 
205. 


Education,  reverence  for,  in  China, 

123. 
Education,  rise  of  lay,  in  Europe, 

298. 
Educational   ideas   of   the    ChurcH 

Fathers  in   Europe,  300. 
Educational  titles  in  China,  127. 
Election-day     in     United     States, 

415. 
Elopement  in  Japan,  136. 
Embalming  in  Egypt,  75. 
Embroidering    in    United    States, 

426. 
Engagement,  announcement  of,  in 

Mexico,  16. 
Engagement    presents    in    Japan, 

134. 
Entertainment    in    the     homes     in 

Greece,  199. 
Ethical  standards  at  Rome,  223. 
Examinations,       competitive,        in 

China,  for  public  positions,  123. 
Eye  troubles  in  Egypt,  74. 

Fairs  in  Europe,  293;  Peru,  48; 
United  States,  398. 

Father,  the,  power  and  duty  of,  in 
Japan,  146. 

Feasts  in  Mexico,  33. 

Feather-work  in  Mexico,  31;  Uni- 
ted States,  427. 

Fertilization  of  crops  in  Egypt, 
66;  Peru,  47;  Rome,  246. 

Festival  of  banners  in  Japan,  148; 
of  chrysanthemums,  149;  of 
dolls,  148;  of  lanterns,  149. 

Festivals  in  Greece,  197;  Japan, 
148. 

Feudal  castle  and  its  life  in  Eu- 
rope, 267. 

Feudal  village,  267. 

Feudalism  in  Europe,  265. 

' '  Field  Schools ' '  in  United  States, 
442. 

Filial  piety  in  Japan,  133. 

Fireplaces  in  houses  in  United 
States,  330. 

Fish  and  fishing  in  Egypt,  67; 
Greece,  190;  Peru,  47;  Rome, 
238;  United  States,  365,  402. 

Flax-culture  and  spinning  in  Uni- 
ted States,  426. 

Flogging  of  servants  in  United 
States,  321. 


462 


Index 


Floors   of   houses  in  Eome,   217; 

United  States,  325. 
Food  in  Egypt,  62;   Europe,  285; 

Greece,  190;   Mexico,  25;    Peru, 

42;   Eome,  237;    United  States, 

364. 
Food    of    children    in    Egypt,    64; 

Greece,   190;    India,   99;    United 

States,  374. 
Football  in  United  States,  407. 
Footwear   in    Egypt,    61;    Europe, 

285;    Greece,   188;    Japan,    140; 

Judea,  172;   Kome,  235;   United 

States,  355. 
Fowling  in  Egypt,  67;  Peru,  47. 
Fox  and  geese,  game  of,  in  Europe, 

296. 
Fruits  of  Egypt,  62 ;  Europe,  286 ; 

Greece,   190;    Peru,    42;     Eome, 

238;    United  States,   367. 
Funeral  feasts  at  Eome,  245. 
Funeral    gifts    in    United    States, 

394. 
Funerals   in    Egypt,     75;     Greece, 

202;  Eome,  243;  United  States, 

393. 
Funerals    of    children     in     United 

States,  398. 
Furniture    of   houses    in     Europe, 

276;   United  States,  325. 

Gambling  in  China,  121;  Europe, 
295;  Greece,  200;  India,  99; 
Mexico,  34 ;  United  States,  400. 

Gambrel  roof  in  United  States,  324. 

Games  and  plays  in  China,  119; 
Egypt,  81;  Greece,  195;  Japan, 
146;  Judea,  173;  Mexico,  41; 
Persia,  164;  Eome,  254;  United 
States,  407. 

Geisha  girls  of  Japan,  133. 

"Genji  and  Heike,"  game  of,  in 
Japan,  152. 

Ghostly  games  in  Japan,  147. 

Gifts  to  young  babies  in  United 
States,  378. 

Girls'  and  women's  work  in  United 
States,  423. 

Girls'  games  in  China,  120;  Japan, 
133;   Persia,  164. 

Girls  of  Athens  and  Sparta,  com- 
parison of,  180. 

Girls'  place  in  the  meeting-house 
of  New  England,  430. 


Gladiatorial  fights  at  Eome,  251. 
Glass  used  in  Egypt,  67. 
Glazed  ware  in  Egypt,  67. 
Go-cart  for  baby  in  United  States, 

379. 
God  of  school  children  in  Japan, 

155. 
Going  to  church  in  New  England, 

434. 
Grace  returned  at  meals  in  Egypt, 

63. 
Grains  of   Egypt,   65;     Peru,    42; 

Eome,  238;  United  States,  364. 
Grape  and  olive  culture  at  Eome, 

247. 
Gravestones  in  United  States,  396. 
Grinding     grain     in     Egypt,     62; 

Europe,  286;  United  States,  365. 
Grinning  matches  in  England,  293. 
Growth  of   the   idea  of   education 

for  all  classes  in  Europe,  297. 
Guilds  in  Europe,  274;  Eome,  249. 
Gymnasium    and    gymnastic    exer- 
cises in  Greece,  197. 
Gymnastic     contests     for   boys    in 

Greece,  199;  Eome,  253. 

Hair  of  baby  in  Japan,  144. 
Hair  of  boys  in  Japan,  140. 
Hair   of  children  in   Greece,  187; 

Mexico,  24;  Peru,  44. 
Hair  of  men  in  Egypt,  60;  Europe, 

284;    Greece,   187;    Japan,    140; 

Peru,   42;    Eome,     234;     United 

States,  355. 
Hair    of    women    in    China,    122; 

Egypt,  60;  Europe,  284;  Greece, 

187;    Japan,    140;    Judea,    172; 

Mexico,     24;    Peru,    42;     Eome, 

235;   United  States,  356. 
Hair-pins    in    Judea,    172;    Eome, 

2.'^5. 
Half-face   camp    of    early    settlers 

in  United  States,  322. 
Handwear  in  Greece,  188. 
Hanscatic      League      in      Europe, 

274. 
Hara-Kiri  in  Japan,  156. 
Headdress  of  school  girl  in  United 

States,  362. 
Head-rest   for   sleeping   in   Egypt, 

57. 
Head-shaving  by   men  in   Europe, 

276;   Egypt,  60. 


Index 


463 


Headwear    of    men    in    Peru,    41; 

Eome,  234. 
Heating  of  houses  in  Europe,  276; 

Eome,  217;   United  States,  330. 
Heating  of  meeting-houses  in  New 

England,  432. 
Hetairai  of   Greece,   180. 
Himation,   worn  in   Greece,   186. 
Historical    and    critical    notice    of 

earlier     and     medieval     Europe, 

264. 
History  of  Judea,  167. 
Hobby-horses     in     Greece,      196; 

Eome,    254, 
Hocking  in  Europe,   293. 
Holidays    and    festivals   in   China, 

119;  Japan,  148;   United  States, 

413. 
Home,  the,  in  Egypt,  55;   Europe, 

276;    Greece,    178;    Eome,    215; 

United  States,  322. 
Hominy,  an  Indian  food  in  United 

States,  364. 
Honey-pots,   game   of,    in    United 

States,  408. 
Hoop-petticoats  for  girls  in  United 

States,  546, 
Hoops,  playing  with,  in  Egypt,  79; 

Greece,  195;   Eome,  254;   United 

States,  413. 
Hop  scotch  in  United  States,  408. 
Hornbook  of  New  England,  445. 
Horseback  riding  at  Eome,  253. 
Horse-racing  in  Greece,  200;   Uni- 
ted States,  403, 
Houses  in  Egypt,  55;  Europe,  276; 

Greece,  178;   Eome,  215. 
Houses  of  Dutch  in  New  York,  323. 
Houses   of   early   settlers   in    New 

England,  490. 
Houses  of  Quakers  and  Germans  in 

Pennsylvania,  323. 
Houses    of    Southern     planters     in 

United  States,  323. 
Human    sacrifice    in    Mexico,  ^  28 ; 

Peru,  45. 
Hunting   in    Egypt,     80;     Europe, 

292;     Greece,    200;     Peru,    47; 

Eome,   253;    United   States,  401. 
Husband  and  wife  in  New  England, 

343. 

Illness     of     children     in     United 
States,  396. 


Immolation  by  wife  in  Cliina,  106. 

Incest  in  Egypt,  58;  Persia,  169; 
Peru,  43. 

Indians  sold  into  slavery  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, 317, 

Industries  of  Egypt,  65;  Mexico, 
30;  Peru,  45;  Eome,  246, 

Infancy  in  China,  112;  Japan, 
144;  Peru,  44;  United  States, 
376, 

Infant  mortality  in  United  States, 
377, 

Infanticide  in  China,  114;  Greece, 
193;  India,  97;  Japan,  143; 
Eome,   238, 

Influence  of  Christianity  on  Women 
in   Europe,    277, 

Inheritance  in  Europe,  267; 
Greece,  194;  India,  100;  Japan, 
140;  Persia,  163;  Eome,  241; 
United  States,  388, 

Insulse  at  Eome,  215. 

Intellectual  precocity  of  children 
in  New  England,  450. 

Intemperance  in  Egypt,  64;  Mex- 
ico, 26;   United  States,  370. 

Intei'ior  of  houses  in  Egj'pt,  56; 
Greece,  178;  Eome,  216. 

Irrigation  in  Egypt,  66. 

Jack-knives  in  United  States,  423. 
Jewels,     talismanic     and     medical 

powers  of,  in  Europe,  285. 
Johnny-cake  in  United  States,  365. 
Judgment  of  the   dead  in   Egypt, 

75. 
Jugglery  in  China,  120;  Egypt,  79; 

Europe,  294;  Greece,  200;  India, 

99;     Japan,     147;     Eome,    254; 

United  States,  403. 
Jumping- jack,  the,  in  Egypt,  82. 

Katted  chimneys  in  United  States, 

322. 
"Kids"  in  United  States,  319. 
Kinds  of  church  schools  in  Europe, 

298. 
Kinds  of  marriages  at  Eome,  225. 
Kinds   of    schools    at    Eome,    258; 

United   States,   442. 
Kites    and    kite-flving     in     China, 

119;    Japan,    151.  "" 
"  Kites'  Day"  in  China,  119. 


464 


Index 


Knighthood,  training  the  boy  for, 

in  Europe,  268. 
Knitting  by  girls  in  United  States, 

424. 
Knockers     on    doors    of    colonial 

houses  in  United  States,  324, 
Kottabos,  game  of,  in  Greece,  199. 

Laborers   of   Europe,   272;    Eome, 

248. 
Lace-making     in     United     States, 

427. 
Lamps  in  United  States,  333. 
Land  allotted  to   married   couples 

in  Peru,  44. 
Leather   and    its    preparation     in 

Egypt,  70. 
Lecture-day  in  New  England,  398. 
Legitimacy   of  children  in   Egypt, 

58;   Greece,  182;  Eome,  239. 
Letter    of    girl    of    eleven    to    her 

grandfather,    in    United   States, 

383. 
Lettering    an    offender    in    United 

States,  419. 
Lighting    the    houses    in    Europe, 

276;  Rome,  218;  United  States, 

332. 
Lintner  of  New  England,  324. 
Literary  contests  at  Eome,  253. 
"Livery     of     seisin"     in    United 

States,    313. 
Loaf-sugar  in  United  States,  368. 
Lobsters  in  United  States,  366. 
Log-cabin  in  United  States,  322. 
London  Bridge,  game  of,  in  United 

States,  408. 
Lord,     the,     in     feudal    times    in 

Europe,   267. 
Lore  in   Mexico,   27. 
Lore    in    reference    to    children   in 

Japan,  152;   Mexico,  18;   Eome, 

240. 
Lotteries    at    Rome,    254;    United 

States,  400. 
Love  potions  in  Greece,  183. 
LuduB    castellorum,    game    of,    at 

Rome,  254. 
Lullabies  of  Greece,  193. 

Maidenhood  in  United  States,  347. 
Maize,  preparation  of,  in  Mexico, 
25. 


Manner  of  cooking  in  early  times 

in  United  States,  364. 
Manners  and  courtesy  of  children 

in  United  States,  382. 
Manufactures      in      Egypt,       67; 
Mexico,  31;   United  States,  421. 
Maple-sugar     making     in     United 

States,  368. 
Marble-playing   in    United  States, 

413. 
Market-gardening  at  Eome,  247. 
Market-places  in  Mexico,  32. 
Marriage  a  civil  contract  in  New 

England,  339. 
Marriage,    adoptive    form    of,    in 

Japan,  137. 
Marriage,  age  of  in  Europe,  281; 
Greece,  182;  India,  92;  Judea, 
168;  Mexico,  16;  Persia,  161; 
Peru,  43;  Eome,  226;  United 
States,  336. 
Marriage  among  the  Anglo-Saxons, 

280;   Early  Germans,  279. 
Marriage    arranged   in   heaven    in 

Judea,  168. 
Marriage    at    Eome    by    coemptio, 
225;    con    ferreatio,    225;     sine 
conventione,  225;  usus,  225. 
Marriage  by  the  church  during  the 

middle  ages  in  Europe,  281. 
Marriage  ceremony  in  China,  110; 
Greece,   184;    India,  90;   Japan, 
135;    Mexico,    17;    Persia,    161; 
Peru,    143;    Eome,   228;    United 
States,  340. 
Marriage-feast     in     Greece,     184; 
Japan,  136;  Judea,  169;  Eome, 
228. 
Marriage    forbidden   with    a  pros- 
titute in  Judea,  170. 
Marriage   in  China,    104;     Egypt, 
57;    Europe,   279;    Greece,    182; 
India,    87;    Japan,   134;    Judea, 
168;    Mexico,    16;    Persia,    161; 
Peru,    43;    Eome,    224;    United 
States,  336. 
Marriage    in    the   early   Christian 

church  in  Europe,  279. 
Marriage,  kinds  of,  in  India,  88; 

Eome,   225. 
Marriage    of    brother    and    sister 

among  the  rulers  in  Peru,  43. 
Marriage  of  serfs  in  Europe,  282. 
Marriage  of  widows  and  widowerd 


Index 


465 


in  China,  105;  India,  92;  Judea, 

168;    Mexico,    18;    Kome,    230; 

United  States,   344. 
Marriage,    temporary,    in    Persia, 

162. 
Marriage,  time  of,  in  Greece,  182; 

Rome,  228. 
Marriage,  tribunal  of,  in  Mexico, 

16. 
Masks  for   caring   for   girls'   com- 
plexions in  United  States,  363. 
Materials  for  dressing  the  hair  of 

women  in  United  States,  357. 
May-day  sports   in   England,   293; 

United  States,  416. 
Meals  in  Egypt,  63;   Greece,  190; 

Mexico,  25;   Eome,  237;    United 

States,  364. 
Meats    used    as    foods    in    Greece, 

190;   Europe,  286. 
Medicine,  education  in,  in  Japan, 

157. 
Medicine,    practice    of,    in    Egypt, 

74;    Eome,   243;    United  States, 

389. 
Medicines  fo'-   children  in   United 

States,  397. 
Metals      and      metal-workers      in 

Egypt,  68 ;  Mexico,  30 ;  Peru,  48. 
Methods    of    teaching    in    Athens, 

209;    China,    125;    Judea,    175; 

Eome,  258. 
Midwife  in  Egypt,  74;  Mexico,  19. 
Military  training  for  the  young  in 

England,   291. 
Milk   and  its   products  in   United 

States,  374. 
Ministers  in  United  States,  436. 
Minnesingers  of  Germany,  271. 
Minstrels  of  British  Isles,  271. 
Miracle     and     morality    plays    of 

medieval  Europe,  293. 
Mirrors  of  Egypt,  62;   Rome,  237. 
Mock-fights  in  Egypt,  80. 
Molasses,   rum,   slavery — the   circle 

trio  of  New  England,  371. 
INIonastic  schools  of  Europe,  298. 
Monogamy  in  Greece,  185;  Judea, 

169;   Mexico,  18;  Rome,  230. 
Mora,  game  of,  in  Egypt,  79. 
Morals  and  manners  taught  in  the 

schools  of  Egypt,  83. 
Morals,   training  of  the  boys  and 
youth  in,  in  Persia,  165. 


Mother-in-law  iu  China,  104. 

Mother's  memorial  in  Japan,   138. 

Mourning-rings  in  United  States, 
395. 

Mud-pies,  making  of,  by  children 
in  Greece,  195. 

Murder  of  a  parent,  punishment 
for,  in  Egypt,  59. 

Museums  in  United  States,  403. 

Music  in  Egypt,  78;  Europe,  294; 
Greece,  2U0;  Mexico,  35;  United 
States,  400. 

Music  of  the  Puritan  meeting- 
houses in  New  England,  438. 

Muster-day  in  United  States,  398. 

Naming    children    in    China,  113; 

Greece,    192;    India,  99;    Japan, 

145;     Mexico,     19;     Peru,     45; 

Rome,  239 ;  United  States,  380. 
Narcotics  in  Peru,  43. 
Naumachia,  mimic  naval  battles,  at 

Eome,  252. 
Necklaces     worn     in     Egypt,     61; 

Europe,  285;  Greece,  189;  India, 

98;   Judea,   172;   Eome,  236. 
Needle-craft  in  United  States,  425. 
Needles  used  in  Egypt,  62. 
Negro  children  sold  by  the  pound 

in  Boston,  317. 
Nets  for  the  hair  in  Greece,  188. 
Netting    made    in    United    States, 

427. 
New  England  Primer,  445. 
New  Year  calls  among  the  Dutch 

in  New  York,  414. 
New    Year    Day    in   China,    119; 

Japan,  148. 
Nile,  annual  rise  of,  and  effect  on 

Egypt,  65. 
Nine-pins  in  United  States,  403. 
Nobility,     characteristics     of,     in 

medieval  Europe,  275. 
Noon-house    for   Sunday   meetings 

in  New  England,  433. 
Nose-rings  in  Judea,  172. 
Number  of  children  in  families  in 

United  States,   379. 
Nursing  of  children  in  Greece,  192; 
Judea,   170. 

Obedience   of   children  in  Mexico, 

20;  Persia,  163. 
Obituaries  in  United  States,  395. 


466 


Index 


Odd     or    even,    game    played    in 

Egypt,  79;   Kome,   254. 
Oiled  paper  in  windows  of  houses 

in  United  States,  324. 
Ointment   for   the   hair   in   Greece, 

188. 
Old  age  among  women  in  Japan, 

133. 
Old  age  in  Greece,  201. 
Olympic    Festival    and    Games    in 

Greece,  197. 
Olympic  Games,  boys'  contests  at, 

in  Greece,   199. 
"One  hundred  stories,"  game  of, 

in  Japan,  147. 
Organization  of   the  medieval  uni- 
versity of  Europe,  300. 
Ornaments    worn    by    children    in 

India,  98. 
Ornaments   worn    in    China,    122; 

Egypt,  61;  Europe,  285;  Greece, 

189;     India,    98;     Judea,     172; 

Mexico,    25;    Peru,    42;     Rome, 

236;  United  States,  354. 

Psenula  and  lacuna,  cloaks  worn 
at  Eome,  232. 

Page,  the,  in  chivalry,  268. 

Painting  in  Egypt,  72. 

Painting  on  glass  by  young  women 
in  United  States,  427. 

Palaestra  in  Greece,  197. 

Palla  worn  by  women  at  Eome, 
233. 

Paper-cutting  by  young  women  in 
United  States,  427. 

Paper-making  in  Egypt,  70;  Mex- 
ico, 31. 

Parasols  in  Greece,  189. 

Parishads  in  India,  101. 

Parish  schools  in   Europe,  298 

Parochial  schools  in  United  States, 
442. 

Parts,  the,  of  a  Roman  house,  216. 

Patria  potestas   at  Eome,   239. 

Peasantry,  the,  of  medieval  Eu- 
rope, 271. 

Pedagogue  in  Greece,  208;  Eome, 
261. 

Pentathlon  in   Greece,   198. 

People  of  Egypt,  53;  Europe,  271; 
Greece,  177;  Mexico,  15;  Peru, 
39;  Eome,  213;  United  States, 
314. 


People,  the  town,  of  medieval  Eu- 
rope, 273. 
Pertumery     used     by     women     in 

Judea,  172. 
Periods  in  the  Life  of  the  child  in 

Persia,  164, 
Pewter  utensils  in  United  States, 

329. 
Physical  characteristics  of  Egypt, 

53;  Greece,  177. 
Physician,     the,     in     Egypt,     74; 

Greece,  201;  Eome,  243;  United 

States,   390. 
Pillory    used    in    United    States, 

418. 
"Pinkster    Day"    in    New    York, 

416. 
Pins  used  in  Egypt,  62. 
Places  of  worship  in  United  States, 

428. 
Play,  a,  by  school  boys  in  medie- 
val times  in  England,  294. 
Pleasure    companies   of    youth     in 

Albany,  New  York,  409. 
Poems,  game  of,  in  Japan,  146. 
Polygamy   in   China,    105;    Egypt, 

58;     Greece,     185;     India,    91; 

Japan,  137;  Judea,  169;  Mexico, 

18;    Persia,   162. 
Pone,    an   Indian  food   in    United 

States,  364. 
Pottery  in  Egypt,  67;  Mexico,  32; 

Peru,  48. 
Powder-horns    in     United    States, 

422. 
Prayers  and  sermons,  length  of,  in 

New  England,  438. 
Precociousness      of      children      in 

United  States,  450. 
Pregnancy   in  Egypt,   59;    Greece, 

191;  Mexico,  18. 
Preserving    and    conserving   fruits 

and    berries    in    United    States, 

367. 
Primitive  homes  in  United  States, 

322. 
Primogeniture  and  entail  in  United 

States,  388. 
Prints   and  paintings  on  walls  of 

homes   in   United  States,   326. 
Prize-shooting    in    United    States, 

402. 
Prohibitions  on  marriage  in  Judea, 

168;  Eome,  226. 


Index 


467 


Public  hangings  in  United  States, 

420. 
Public      punishments     in     United 

States,  416. 
Public  schools  in  Rome,  257;  Uni- 
ted States,  443. 
Punishment    for    child-murder     in 

Egypt,  58. 
Punishment  for  murder  of  a  par- 
ent in  China,  116;   Egypt,  59. 
Punishment  for  wilful  murder  of  a 

slave  in  Egypt,  55. 
Punishment   in   schools   of   United 

States,  449.         • 
Punishment    of    slaves    in    United 

States,  316. 
Pupil's     respect    for     teacher     in 

China,  124. 
Purification    of    the    home    after 

death  at  Eome,  246. 
Purification     of      the     infant     in 

Greece,  191;  Eome,  239.. 
Purpose  of  education  in  Egypt,  83 ; 

Eome,   257. 
Purpose    of    marriage    in    Greece, 

182. 
Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  73. 

Quern,  the,   for  grinding  grain  in 

Scotland,    287;     United    States, 

365. 
Quilt-making  in  United  States,  425. 
Quintain,     tilting    at,    in    Europe, 

292. 
Quipus  of  Peru,  51. 
Quoits    in    Europe,    296;     United 

States,  403. 

Races  and  contests  in  Mexico,  34. 

*  *  Eaiko  and  the  Oni, ' '  story  of,  in 
Japan,   153. 

Rank  shown  by  dress  in  Peru,  42; 
Europe,  283. 

Rattle,  the,  of  infant  in  Greece, 
194. 

Redemptioners  in  United  States, 
318. 

Regulations  in  Egypt,  54;  Japan, 
140, 

Religion  in  China,  122;  Egypt,  76; 
Greece,  202;  Japan,  155;  Mexico, 
28;  Peru,  45;  Rome,  255;  Uni- 
ted States,  428. 


Religious    books   for    children     in 

New  England,  441, 

Religious  fears  of  young  people  in 
New  England,  441. 

Religious  precocity  in  New  Eng- 
land,   440. 

Religious  services  of  the  first  col- 
onists in  Virginia,  428. 

Reliquaries  in  Europe,  285. 

Remedies  for  children's  diseases  in 
United  States,  397. 

Remodeling  the  human  figure  by 
the  women  of  Greece,   189. 

Respect  for  parents  and  aged  peo- 
ple by  children  and  young  peo- 
ple in  China,  116;  Egypt,  59; 
United  States,  383. 

Results  of  the  education  of  earlier 
United  States,  454. 

Revenge  of  slighted  affections  by 
a  young  woman  in  Japan,  153. 

Rhetor 's  school  at  Rome,  260. 

Rhymes  for  children  in  China, 
Mother  Goose  Rhymes,  113. 

Riddles,  the  giving  of,  in  Judea, 
173. 

Rings  worn  in  Egypt,  61;  Greece, 
189;    India,   98;    Rome,   236, 

Rites  in  India,  99. 

Roads  in  Peru,  39. 

Rope-walking  in  Europe,  294; 
Rome,   254;    United  States,  403, 

Running  and  jumping  games  in 
Japan,  151. 

Running  contests  in  United  States, 
403. 

Running  games  of  children  in 
Greece,  195, 

Sack  races  in  Europe,  293. 
Sacred   Thread,    bestowing   of,   on 

youth  in  India,  99. 
Saint  Valentine 's  Day  among  the 

Dutch  in  New  York,  416. 
Salary   of   minister   in   New   Eng- 
land, 436. 
Salt-cellar,   important   at  table  in 

United  States,  328. 
Samp,   an   Indian   food   in   United 

States,  364. 
Sampler,  made  by  girls  in  United 

States,  427, 
Samurai,   education   of,  in   Japan, 

158. 


468 


Index 


Sanitation  in  United  States,   389. 
Scholar,  the,   in   China,    127. 
School    books    in    United    States, 

445. 
School,    child's    first    day    at,    in 

China,   124. 
School  day  at  Athens,  209;  China, 

123;   Kome,   261. 
School      houses    in     China,     124; 

Greece,  209;  Eome,  260;  United 

States,   444. 
School    materials    in    China,    124; 

United  States,  444. 
School  vacations  in  China,  124. 
School  year  in  China,  124;  Eome, 

261. 
Schools,    coeducational,    in   Japan, 

157. 
Schools  connected  with  temples  in 

Egypt,  82. 
Schools,  kinds   of,  in   China,   123; 

Kome,  258. 
Schools  of  Egypt,  elementary,  82; 

higher,  82. 
Schools   of    quite    early   origin    in 

China,  123. 
"  Scrutaire"  in  homes  of  United 

States,  326. 
Sculpture  in  Egypt,  71. 
Seating    at    meals    in    Egypt,    63; 

Eome,  237. 
Seating     in    churches    in     United 

States,  431. 
Seating    of    children    and     young 

people  in  churches  in  New  Eng- 
land, 439. 
See-saw,     used     by     children     of 

Greece,  195. 
Serfdom   in   Europe,   271. 
Servants  in  United  States,  318. 
Service,  noble  and  ignoble,  in  Eu- 
rope, 171. 
Sexes,  separate    education    of,    in 

Mexico,  36. 
Shirking    school,    playing    hookey, 

etc.,  at  Kome,  262. 
Shoes  for   girls  in  United  States, 

363. 
Shoes  of  baby  in  Japan,  144. 
Shrove   Tuesday  observed  in  New 

York,  415. 
Sickness  and  death  in  Egypt,  74; 

Greece,  201;  Eome,  243;   United 

States,  389. 


Sillabub,  a  drink  in  United  States, 

372. 
Singing-schools   in    United  States, 

400. 
Sitting  of  people  in  Egypt,  57. 
Skates     and     skating     in     United 

States,   402,   410. 
Skipping  of  stones  by  children  at 

Eome,  254. 
Slavery  in  Egypt,  54;  Mexico,  30; 

Eome,  214;  United  States,  316. 
Slawbank,   the,   in   United  States, 

327. 
Sleeping,  manner  of,  in  Egypt,  57. 
Sleeve-buttons   in    United    States, 

354. 
Sleighing    in    United    States,    402, 

411. 
Sleight-of-hand     performances     in 

United  States,  403. 
Slitting  tongue  of  offender  in  Uni- 
ted States,  419. 
Small-pox  in  United  States,  392. 
Smock-races   of    young   women    in 

England,  293. 
Snail  Water,  a  famous  medicine  f oi' 

rickets  in  United  States,  377. 
Snow  and  ice  games  and  sports  in 

Japan,  151. 
Soap-making     in     United     States, 

425. 
Sons  greatly  desired  in  China,  116; 

India,  96. 
"Soul-examination,"   game  of,  in 

Japan,  147. 
Spectacles  at  Eome,  249. 
Sports  and  festivals  at  Greece,  197. 
Standard  of  beauty  for  women    in 

Japan,  132. 
Standing-stool  for  baby  in  United 

States,  379. 
Stays   and   corsets   for  little   chil- 
dren  in   United  States,   363. 
Stilts  in  Greece,  195;  Japan,  151; 

Eome,  254. 
Stocks  used  for  punishment  of  of- 
fenders in  United  States,  417. 
Stola  worn  by  women  at  Eome,  232. 
Stone,  kinds  of,  used  in  buildings 

in  Egypt,  73. 
Storv-telling  in  India,  99 ;   Japan, 

146. 
Stoves    used  by    the    Germans   in 

Pennsylvania,  330. 


Index 


469 


Striking  a  light  in  United  States, 

333, 
Subject-matter    of  the  elementary 

schools  in  New  England,  446. 
Subject-matter  of   the   schools    at 

Eome,  259, 
Succotash,  an  Indian  food  in  Uni- 
ted States,  364. 
Suicide  of  lovers  in  Japan,  155. 
Suicide  of  wives  in  China,  104. 
Sunday      observance      in     United 

States,   428. 
Supawn,  an  Indian  food  in  United 

States,  364. 
Sutteeism  in  India,  93. 
Sweetmeats  for  children  in  United 

States,  375. 
Swimming  in  United  States,  411. 
Sword-dancing     in     Europe,     294; 

United  States,  403. 
Swords   worn   by   boys   in    Japan, 

140. 

Tables  in  Egypt,  57;  Rome,  218; 
United  States,  328. 

Tableware  and  furnishings  in 
Egypt,  63;  Europe,  286;  Eome, 
238;    United  States,  328. 

Tablinum  of  a  Eoman  house,  216. 

Tag,  game  of,  in  United  States, 
408. 

Tallow-candle  making  in  United 
States,   332. 

Tammany  Club  in  New  York,  399. 

Tapestries  hung  on  walls  of  houses 
in  United  States,  326. 

Tea  in  United  States,  373. 

Teacher  and  pupil  in  India,  102. 

Teachers  of  China,  124;  Greece, 
208;  Eome,  261;  United  States, 
446. 

Teeth,  condition  of,  in  United 
States,  357. 

Teething  of  children  in  United 
States,  378. 

Temple  of  Karnak  in  Egypt,  73. 

Thanksgiving  Day  among  the  Pur- 
itans of  New  England,  414. 

Theaters  and  theatrical  entertain- 
ments in  Europe,  294;  Greece, 
200;  Japan,  147;  Mexico,  35; 
Eome,  252;  United  States,  404. 

Thumb-rings  worn  by  men  in  Uni- 
ted States,  354. 


Tilting  at  Quintain  in  Europe,  292. 

Time  of  planting  and  reaping  grain 
in  Egypt,  66. 

Time-pieces  in  United  States,  354. 

Tip-cat,  played  by  boys  in  Europe, 
296. 

Tithing-man  of  New  England,  434. 

Titles,  educational,  in  China,  127. 

Tobacco  in  Mexico,  26;  Peru,  43; 
United  States,  368. 

Toga  of  Eomans,  231. 

Toga  virilis,  investing  boy  with,  at 
Eome,  241. 

Toilette,  the,  of  ladies  at  Eome, 
236. 

Tops  and  top-spinning  in  Europe, 
296;  Greece,  196;  Japan,  151; 
Eome,  254;  United  States,  412. 

Tournaments  in  Europe,  269. 

Towers  on  heads  of  women  in  Uni- 
ted States,  356. 

Townsman,  the,  in  medieval  Eu- 
rope, 275. 

Toys  in  China,  120;  Egypt,  81; 
Greece,  194;  Japan,  149;  Eome, 
254;    United  States,  412. 

Trades  in  Egypt,  67;  Mexico,  31. 

Tradesmen  and  mechanics  at  Eome, 
248. 

Training  of  the  king  and  princes 
of  Peru,  49. 

Treatment  and  remedies  of  physi- 
cians in  United  States,  390. 

Trenchers  used  at  meals  in  United 
States,  328. 

Triclinium  of  Eomans,  237. 

Troubadours  of  Southern  France, 
271. 

Trousseau  of  bride  in  Japan,  135. 

Trouveurs  of  Northern  France, 
271. 

Trundle-bed  in  United  States,  327. 

Tug-of-war  of  boys  in  Greece,  196. 

Tunica  of  Eomans,  232. 

Types  of  meeting-houses  in  New 
England,  429. 

[Jmbrellas  in  United  States,  354. 
Universities,  ea.rly,  in  Europe,  299; 

India,  101 ;  Japan,  157. 
Use  of  meeting-houses  for  various 

purposes  in  New  England,  433. 
Utensils,     household,     in     United 

States,  329. 


470 


Index 


Vassalage   in   Europe,   266. 
Vegetables  of  Jigypt,  65;   Europe, 

286;     Greece,     190;     Peru,    42; 

Eome,  238;  United  States,  367. 
Vegetables  of  the  North  American 

Indians    obtained    by    the    early 

settlers  in  the  United  States,  367. 
Veils   worn   by   women   of    Judea, 

172. 
Venatio,  animal  displays,  at  Eome, 

251. 
Vestal  Virgins  of  Rome,  255. 
Villas  in  Egypt,  56;  Eome,  215. 
Virgins  of  the  Sun  in  Peru,  44. 
Voorlezer,      chorister,     of     church 

among  the  Dutch  in  New  York, 

435. 

Wakes  in  Europe,  293. 
Walking  as   an  exercise   and  pas- 
time at  Eome,  253, 
Walking  of  baby  in  Japan,  144. 
Walking-sticks      in      Egypt,      61; 

Greece,  189. 
Warming-pans    in    United    States, 

330. 
Watches  in  United  States,  354. 
Water     for     drinking     in     United 

States,   369. 
Weaning  of  child  in  India,  99. 
Wedding-bans,    publishing    of,     in 

United  States,  339. 
Wedding  ceremony  in  Japan,  135; 

Persia,   162;   Eome,   228. 
Wedding-day      in      China,      111; 

Greece,  184;  Eome,  228, 
Wedding-dress  at  Eome,  227. 
Wedding- feast     in      China,      111; 

Eome,  228, 
Wedding     procession     in     Greece, 

184. 
Wedding  veil  at  Eome,  227, 
Wheelbarrow    races    in    England, 

293. 
Whipping      offenders    in      United 

States,  419. 
Whipping-posts,     location     of,     in 

Boston,  420. 
Whiskey  manufactured   in   United 

States,  371. 
Widowers   in   China,     105;     India, 

93;     Judea.     168;    Eome,    230; 

United  States,  344. 
Widows  in  China,  105;  India,  92; 


Judea,  168;  Mexico,  18;  Eome, 
230 ;  United  States,  345. 

Wife,  advertisement  for,  in  United 
States,  339. 

Wife,  the,  in  India,  91;  Eome,  229. 

Wife,  fate  of  sonless,  in  India, 
96, 

Wigs  worn  in  Egypt,  60;  United 
States,  355. 

Wigwams  made  and  used  by  set- 
tlers in  United  States,  322. 

Wild  berries,  fruits,  and  nuts  in 
United  States,  367. 

Wild  game  in  Greece,  190;  United 
States,    367. 

Windows  in  houses  in  Egypt,  56; 
Eome,  217. 

Woman,  a,  of  a  scientific  turn  of 
mind  in  United  States,  335. 

Women  among  the  early  Germans, 
278. 

Women,  classes  of,  and  condition 
at  Eome,  218, 

Women  dying  in  childbirth  in  Mex- 
ico, 19. 

Women,  education  of,  in  Athens, 
209;  China,  127;  Egypt,  83; 
India,  102;  Japan,  158;  Judea, 
175;  Mexico,  37;  Persia,  169; 
Rome,  262;  Sparta,  209;  United 
States,  452, 

Women,  education  of,  views  of  the 
early  Church  Fathers  in  Europe, 
300, 

Women  in  Athens,  179;  China, 
104;  Egypt,  57;  Europe,  277; 
Greece,  178 ;  India,  85 ;  Japan, 
130;  Judea,  167;  Mexico,  16; 
Persia,  161;  Eome,  218;  Sparta, 
179;    United  States,  334. 

Women,  influence  of  Christianity 
on,  in  Europe,  277. 

Women  in  industrial  affairs  in  Eu- 
rope, 279 ;  United  States,  334. 

Women  of  Athens  and  Sparta  con- 
trasted. 180. 

Women  of  Eome,  in  literature,  222 ; 
in  professions,  222;  in  public 
life,  218. 

Women,  old  age  of,  in  Japan,  133. 

Women  possessing  property  in  the 
middle  ages  of  Europe,  279. 

Women's  influence  upon  men  and 
affairs  at  Eome,  220. 


Index 


471 


Women,  standard  of  beauty  for,  in 
Japan,  132. 

Women  teachers  in  New  England 
and  New  York,  448, 

Women  under  feudalism  in  Japan, 
137. 

Wood-working  in  Egypt,  68;  Mex- 
ico, 31;  Peru,  48;  United  States, 
422. 

Wool  culture  and  spinning  in  Uni- 
ted States,   426. 

Work,  a  day's,  of  a  peasant  in 
England,  272. 

Work  and  manufactures  of  boys  in 
United  States,  422. 

Work  of  district  school,  academy, 
and  college  in  United  States, 
447. 


Work  of  girls  and  women  in  United 
States,  423. 

Work  of  girls  in  Japan,   156. 

Work  of  one  girl  in  United  States, 
424. 

Work,  regulations  of,  in  Peru,  40. 

Working  in  precious  stones  in  Mex- 
ico, 32. 

Wrestling  in  Egypt,  80;  Japan, 
151;   United  States,  403. 

Wrestling  matches,  imitation  of, 
by  boys  in  Japan,  151. 

Writing,  art  of,  in  Japan,  157. 

Yawning  matches  in  England,  294. 
Year  of  Eoman  farmer,  247. 
Youth  inducted  into  citizenship  at 
Rome,  241. 


I 


